High-Ranking Judge Murdered in Southern Russia
A top judge in Russia’s restive southern region of Ingushetia, Khasan Yandiyev, 51, was shot dead while changing a tire on his car at a filling station near the town of Karabulak.
Yandiyev, deputy chairman of Ingushetia’s Supreme Court, was a high-profile judge who handled trials of Muslim radicals and cases involving public corruption. His murder follows a spate recent attacks on Ingushi officials, troops and police. The assailants were unidentified and witnesses say they did not hear gunshots, although some are speculating the use of a silencer.
“No one heard the shot, perhaps it was a sniper or assailants used a gun with silencer,” he added saying that Yandiyev died of wounds in an ambulance car on the way to hospital.
The spokesman said an investigation was under way, but could give no further details.
Also in Ingushetia on Friday, in the village of Sagapshi, a police officer was gunned down by unknown assailants. Ingushetia has experienced an upsurge in violence.
A total of 192 militants and armed gang members were killed and more than 700 arrested in anti-terrorist operations in Russia’s North Caucasus last year. The Ingushi blame Muslim radicals for the spike in violence, while critics of the local government claim it is an example of ineffectiveness and corruption.
Tags: Karabulak, Khasan Yandiyev, North Caucasus, Russia, Russophile, Sagapshi
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