Published: 10 June, 2011, 13:35
Yury Budanov, a disgraced Russian colonel sentenced for kidnapping and killing a Chechen teenager, has been killed in central Moscow. Some Russian nationalists believe him to be a hero unjustly jailed to pacify Chechens.
Budanov was shot on Friday in one of Moscow’s biggest streets in front of a notary’s office. Police believe he was killed by a trained assassin in a well-planned operation.
Preliminary reports say a hitman and an accomplice committed the crime. One person armed with a silenced pistol is believed to have shot Budanov four times at point-blank range. The shooter aimed for his target’s head, investigators say.
The accomplice was waiting in a car parked nearby. After the kill the duo sped away. The car was later found not far from the crime scene. Inside the vehicle, police discovered the pistol which apparently was used to kill Budanov.
Police are checking footage from street CCTV cameras, which they hope will help identify the killer or the second suspect.
Some reports say Budanov was wearing a colonel uniform the moment he was killed. If true, it was illegal, since he was stripped of awards and military rank after conviction.
Aleksey Dulimov, the lawyer who defended Budanov during the war crimes trial, believes his death may have been blood revenge.
"Everything in life is connected. The only action, which may be connected to the circumstances and the fact of Budanov’s killing… is his conviction for the murder of Kungaeva,” he told RIA Novosti.
Oleg Orlov, head of the human rights organization Memorial agrees.
"I don’t exclude the version that it has been revenge for the crime he committed when he was in Chechnya,” he told Interfax.
Adam Delimkhanov, Chechen politician and close friend of the republic’s head Ramzan Kadyrov commented to Gazeta.ru news website in a few words: "I believe it was retribution.”
Budanov’s case
Yury Budanov was a former colonel, who was charged with war crimes committed in 2000 during a campaign in the Russian Chechen Republic.
Budanov was sent to prison for ten years in 2003 for murdering Elsa Kungayeva. He was acquitted of rape charges. The defense said Kungayeva was a militant sniper.
After serving half of his term, Budanov asked for early release. In 2008, after he pleaded for freedom for a fifth time, a court found he had repented. He was released in 2009. The move drew protests from the Chechen Republic and human rights activists.
