Ramses Gaichayev
Ramses Gaichayev | |
---|---|
Born | Ramses Lobazanovich Gaichayev 1976 (age 47–48) RSFSR |
Other names | Ramses Goichayev |
Conviction(s) | Murder x10 Rape Robbery Brigandage Genocide |
Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | 10+ |
Span of crimes | 1997–1999 |
Country | Russia |
State(s) | Chechnya, Stavropol |
Date apprehended | December 1999 |
Imprisoned at | Black Dolphin Prison, Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Oblast |
Ramses Lobazanovich Gaichayev (
The genocide charges were eventually dropped, and Gaichayev was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death. The sentence was then automatically commuted to life imprisonment due to the moratorium on capital punishment in the country, and he remains behind bars.
Background and murders
Little is publicly available about Gaichayev's life prior to his
From November 1997 to April 1999, Gaichayev with his
Gaichayev was initially arrested by Chechen militants in 1998, after a Sharia court ordered that he be detained for the murder of an elderly woman. However, when federal security officers approached the village, he was released and quickly resumed his killings. Eventually, Gaichayev and Khalidov were arrested again by federal authorities in December 1999 in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt, on the outskirts of Grozny.[3] Rizvan Magomadov was detained in April 2001 during a sting operation in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, where he was the ringleader of a heroin smuggling ring along with several Tajikistani nationals.[1] Media reports never clarified what happened to Kharat Magomadov or Dzhabrail Espirov, who are presumably still at large.
Trial and imprisonment
In the end, only Gaichayev and Khalidov were put on trial for the murders. The crimes were considered so severe that prosecutor Maria Semisynova suggested that genocide charges should be included in the indictments, arguing that the targeted killing of Russians was a clear example of ethnic cleansing.[3] The courts disagreed with her assessment, as there were no indications that Gaichayev or his accomplices were militants and were rather motivated by robbery — when the charge itself was raised in court, Gaichayev blurted out that he «had done nothing wrong, but simply killed Russians». If charged, he would have become the first person to be tried on genocide charges in the history of the modern Russian state.[3]
On April 18, 2001, both men were found guilty — Gaichayev on all counts, while Khalidov was only found guilty of rape and robbery.
As of November 2022, Gaichayev remains behind bars and is currently imprisoned at the Black Dolphin Prison in Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Oblast. No information is available about the fate of Khalidov and the other gang members.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Marina Lepina (November 10, 2001). "Бандиты убивали русских" [Bandits killed Russians]. Kommersant (in Russian). Archived from the original on January 8, 2013.
- ^ "В Шелковском районе Чечни раскрыто массовое убийство русских жителей" [Massacre of Russian residents uncovered in Shelkovskiy district of Chechnya]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). February 17, 2000. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c Maria Tsvetkova. "Первый смертный приговор за пять лет" [First death sentence in five years]. Gazeta.Ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 28, 2001.
- ^ "Суд Пятигорска огласит приговор Рамзесу Гайчаеву и Рустаму Халидову" [The Pyatigorsk court will announce the verdict to Ramses Gaichayev and Rustam Khalidov]. NEWSru (in Russian). April 18, 2001. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022.
- ^ "Обвиненный в геноциде русских боевик приговорен к смертной казни" [Militant accused of Russian genocide sentenced to death]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). April 18, 2001. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022.
- ^ "В Пятигорске сегодня вынесен приговор по первому в России делу о геноциде русских" [In Pyatigorsk, a verdict was passed today in Russia's first case of genocide of Russians]. Channel One Russia (in Russian). April 18, 2001. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015.