Relatives of Grozny resident, 63-year-old Alavdi Batikaev, reached out to the Memorial Center. He is accused of attacking Pskov paratroopers in Chechnya in 2000, an accusation Batikaev denies. The Human Rights Protection Center believes the charges against him are unfounded.
About the case:
In June 2022, FSB officers summoned Alavdi Batikaev from Grozny to Pyatigorsk under a false pretext and arrested him there. The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the North Caucasus Federal District opened a criminal case against him, charging him under Part 2 of Article 209, Article 279, and Article 317 of the Criminal Code for allegedly participating in the attack on Pskov paratroopers in Chechnya on February 29, 2000 — 22 years ago.
The Memorial Human Rights Protection Center analyzed the available materials and concluded that the charges against Batikaev are unfounded. This conclusion is based on examining both the accusations and procedural aspects, as well as analyzing the events of more than two decades ago at Height 776.2 near the village of Ulus-Kert, where 84 servicemen of the 6th Company of the 104th Parachute Regiment of the Pskov Airborne Division lost their lives.
According to the official version, 90 Pskov paratroopers, defending Height 776.2 on the last day of winter in 2000, managed to stop a two-thousand-strong unit of Chechen fighters led by Shamil Basayev and Khattab. Eighty-four paratroopers were killed repelling the attacks, with only six surviving. This story has taken on the features of a heroic myth, but facts suggest that the real events of February 29, 2000, unfolded differently.
Materials from the criminal case and indictments indicate that the paratroopers were victims of “friendly fire.” Nevertheless, for more than ten years, members of Chechen armed groups have been tried for the deaths of these paratroopers. The number of criminal cases continues to grow, investigated by the same group of investigators, with indictments closely resembling one another.
A detailed analysis is available in our article.
The Memorial Human Rights Protection Center analyzed the available materials and concluded that the charges against Batikaev are unfounded. This conclusion is based on examining both the accusations and procedural aspects, as well as analyzing the events of more than two decades ago at Height 776.2 near the village of Ulus-Kert, where 84 servicemen of the 6th Company of the 104th Parachute Regiment of the Pskov Airborne Division lost their lives.
According to the official version, 90 Pskov paratroopers, defending Height 776.2 on the last day of winter in 2000, managed to stop a two-thousand-strong unit of Chechen fighters led by Shamil Basayev and Khattab. Eighty-four paratroopers were killed repelling the attacks, with only six surviving. This story has taken on the features of a heroic myth, but facts suggest that the real events of February 29, 2000, unfolded differently.
Materials from the criminal case and indictments indicate that the paratroopers were victims of “friendly fire.” Nevertheless, for more than ten years, members of Chechen armed groups have been tried for the deaths of these paratroopers. The number of criminal cases continues to grow, investigated by the same group of investigators, with indictments closely resembling one another.
A detailed analysis is available in our article.
The criminal case against Alavdi Batikaev began on August 16, 2023, in the Rostov District Military Court.The trial ended on September 12, 2024.Alavdi Batikaev was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
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