The main stories this week

💣 Terrorism & insurgency

The Southern District Military Court sentenced two Dagestani residents, Magomed-Vali Bulatov and Nariman Nurmagomedov, to 13 years and nine years one month respectively for transferring money to Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham in Syria.

A local court in Magas arrested 28-year-old Ingushetian resident Ramazan Ekazhev on suspicion of planning to blow up an oil facility. Ekhazhev reportedly acquired a 2 kg improvised explosive device for the purpose. His motives or affiliations are not known.

A court sentenced 32-year-old Chechen native Almira Ayupova to six years in prison for travelling to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State. She reportedly helped guard homes of other members and carried out domestic work, up until January 2017. The case against Ayupova rested on the testimony of two witnesses, one of which was unable to identify her and the other of which claimed in court that he had given his initial testimony under pressure from the security services. Ayupova admitted to being in Syria and retuned voluntarily.

The Southern District Military Court fined 23-year-old Chechen resident Akhmad Khulayev for online publications justifying terrorism. The court found Khulayev guilty of making religiously motivated calls for violence and posting photographs and videos of an unspecified terrorist organisation.

🪖 Private military companies (PMCs)

The UK has sanctioned three PMCs for their links to the Kremlin: African Corps, Bears Brigade and PMC Espanola. It has also sanctioned eleven people, including Aleksandr Kuznetsov (Ratibor), and three private companies.

A joint investigation by Verstka and Nordsint has shown how former Wagner recruiters on Telegram are now working for African Corps. In some cases, Wagner logos are still being used, but recruits nevertheless end up in the Defence Ministry unit. Preference is given to former Wagner fighters, and the terms of recruitment are very similar, but with a few added restrictions such as no relatives in Ukraine or dual citizenship.

🚔 State-linked security services

Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has denied that either he or any other resident of the republic has anything to do with an assassination attempt on Komil Allamzhonov, the former head of the information policy department in the presidential administration of Uzbekistan. Unknown people opened fire on Allamzhonov’s car on 26 October; Kadyrov claims that Western media are spreading rumours about a “Chechen trace” in the case.

Moscow’s Basmannyy Court extended the arrest of Umar Chichayev, the deputy commander of OMON Akhmat-1 who was involved in the shootout at Wildberries’ offices.

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