Umar Israilov

Umar S. Israilov (c. 1982 – January 13, 2009) was a former bodyguard of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov who became a critic of the Chechen regime. He was shot and killed in exile in Vienna, Austria on January 13, 2009.

Israilov fought against Russian forces during the Second Chechen War, but was captured in 2003. He began serving as Ramzan Kadyrov’s bodyguard in a militia that was led by Ramzan Kadyrov's father, then Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. Israilov claimed to have witnessed killings, torture, and other crimes by Kadyrovites including Ramzan Kadyrov and Adam Delimkhanov, who went on to serve in the Russian Parliament.

In 2006 Israilov and his father, Sharpuddi Israilov, each filed complaints in the European Court of Human Rights against the Russian and Chechen governments. The case was dropped after the court sought more information but could not locate the Israilovs, who had gone into hiding.

Stratfor quoted claims by unnamed sources that Israilov was murdered "by organized criminal assets in Vienna at the behest of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and with Kremlin approval."

After the killing, Austrian police arrested and questioned eight Chechen men who had either received or applied for asylum in Austria. In February 2009 police in Poland arrested a man identified as Turpal Ali J. whom they described as an "accomplice" to Israilov's murderer.

An Austrian court sentenced three individuals to prison for Israilov's murder on June 1, 2011. Otto Kaltenbrunner, Suleiman Dadayev and Turpal-Ali Yesherkayev received sentences of life, 19 years, and 16 years, respectively. Austrian police believe Chechen President Kadyrov ordered Israilov's abduction, an action that later ended in murder. Lecha Bogatirov, the man suspected of firing the fatal shots, remained at large.

As reported by C.J. Chivers, a journalist for the International Herald Tribune, in August 2008 Austrian authorities interviewed a Chechen man who said he had been sent to find Umar Israilov, and that Israilov was on a list of enemies whom Kadyrov allegedly intended to have killed. The man asked Israilov "to withdraw his complaints or risk being killed and having his family killed." However the Austrians did not detain the man and did not provide protection for Israilov.

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