In 2004 he fled the Russian Federation and has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against Kadyrov accusing him of abductions and torture. Israilov claimed that in addition to witnessing torture he had also been tortured by Kadyrov personally.
-The reason for the killing seems simple, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s advisor Aage Borchgrevink, left, says in an interview printed in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten today. – To prevent that the complaint against Kadyrov is reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights. At the same time this murder is a clear signal to exiled Chechens worldwide that Kadyrov is able to silence critics not only in the Chechen Republic and Moscow, but also abroad. Israilov’s father was also tortured by Kadyrov and has filed a complaint against Kadyrov. Although there are many complaints filed against Russia with the Europan Court of Human Rights, we do not know of other than the two Israilovs’ complaints filed against Kadyrov himself.
Umar Israilov had recently received threats and sought protection by Austrian police. The request had been denied. The way Israilov was killed can be compared to the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, as it has many similarities. There is a large community of Chechen refugees in Norway and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee fear similar incidents may occur also here.
