December 17, 2001

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At 3 o'clock in the morning in the village of Katyr-Yurt, employees of Russian security forces kidnapped Vakhid Elsaev, Shamkhan Anzorov (in some sources - Anzurov) and Adlan Mitrishev.

Vahid Khadisovich Elsaev, born in 1958 (passport: 1-Ож 535818), lived at the address: Lenin St., 159. According to relatives, he did not participate in hostilities in either the first or second war.

He was taken away from his home by security forces who arrived in Ural and UAZ cars. The law enforcement officers did not introduce themselves, did not present their documents, and did not explain the reason why they were taking the person away. They simply lifted him out of bed and took him to an unknown direction. After that he disappeared without a trace. The kidnappers were in uniform. Some are wearing masks. They spoke Russian without any accent. They behaved more correctly than in other cases involving the detention or abduction of residents of Chechnya.

The next morning, relatives began searching. We contacted them first verbally, then with statements to the Department of Internal Affairs, the prosecutor's office and the FSB. But none of the law enforcement agencies in the region admitted the involvement of their employees in this crime. Including the military commandant's office of the Achkhoy-Martan district. Relatives are confident that after the abduction, Vahid Elsayev remained on its territory for some time. As of early March 2008, he continued to be listed as missing without a trace. Nothing is known about his further fate at Memorial Human Rights Center.
The brother of the kidnapped Vakha Elsaev says: “...I’m already tired of telling the story. My family and I were taken barefoot into the yard, into the snow. Under threat of execution they ordered not to move. One of the military men, radioing, called out my passport details and asked: “This one?”

“No,” was the answer from the car, “we took the right one.”

Relatives of Vakhid Elsayev believe: that he was taken away because of a slander from fellow villagers who were in conflict with their family. They learned from unofficial sources that he may have been taken to a military base in Khankala. This was his third kidnapping. On two previous occasions he was tortured. They were released both times for a ransom - for handing over machine guns bought on the black market.

However, not only Vakha Elsayev was detained, but also many of his relatives. Some were taken away several times. In particular, Akhmed, Magomed and Nur-Ali Elsaev. At the place of detention they were also beaten and tortured with electric shock. Relatives used various methods to get them out into the wild.

On the same night, employees of Russian security forces took Shamkhan Khamzatovich Anzorov, born in 1966, who lived at the address: st. Gagarina, 11 (in other sources - 16). At the beginning of March 2008, his whereabouts had also not been established.

The kidnappers arrived in UAZ-469 and UAZ-452 (“tabletka”) cars. Having entered the house, they lifted Shamkhan Anzorov from his bed, searched the premises and took him away in an unknown direction. In the village he was known as an active participant in the hostilities in 1994-1996. However, during the second war, without joining any side, he remained at home all the time.

The wife of the kidnapped Zaina Dzhambulatov says: “All the soldiers we had were without masks. These were the Slavs. They searched the entire house but found nothing. Without listening to the military, who rushed him with threats, Shamkhan managed to put something on himself. We couldn't do anything because they threatened to kill anyone who left the house. My one-year-old daughter cried, awakened by all this. Shamkhan, leaving, asked me to calm her down. Even at this moment he was thinking about the children. He loved them very much and was attached to them.”

Shamkhan Anzorov left two children - a boy and a girl. His wife tried to establish his whereabouts, but to no avail. At the Achkhoy-Martan commandant's office, where her husband was most likely taken, they categorically refused to acknowledge the fact that their employees participated in night abductions on the territory of Katyr-Yurt under their jurisdiction.

To the house at the address: st. Sadovaya, 6, unlike the two previous cases, the Russian “security forces” came on foot. They captured Adlan Sulambekovich Mitrishev, born in 1965, who lived there, a participant in the first war and amnestied. They forced him to get dressed, took him out into the street and, putting him in an approaching ZAZ, took him away in an unknown direction. Relatives confidently say that he was taken to the military commandant’s office in the Achkhoy-Martan district. The kidnappers did not introduce themselves, behaved rudely, and beat the wife of the man they captured. They spoke Russian without an accent. All the security forces were wearing masks.

Says Salavdi, brother of Adlan Mitrishev: “We were in different houses in the same yard. After beating his wife with rifle butts, Adlan was taken away. Under threat of execution they were ordered not to go out. Oral and written appeals to law enforcement agencies yielded nothing. The fate of Adlan and two other residents of our village who were kidnapped that night is unknown.”