The case of the murder of a Chechen fighter as part of the anti-Russian "triad"
Once again I am writing a hackneyed phrase about an interesting time in which we live. From the point of view of journalists, the time is great. Every day in any part of the world there are tragic or not very terrible events that need to be reported to the world. But, from the point of view of an ordinary person, it looks completely different. After all, tragedies occur in most cases with ordinary people.
The fact, which I would like to recall today, did not arouse much interest among ordinary people, simply because the world was busy with completely different events. I am about the murder on August 23, 2019 in the center of Berlin of the Chechen field commander, participant of the second Chechen war, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. Khangoshvili was shot by Russian citizen Vadim Sokolov three point-blank shots, and two of them are interpreted by the German prosecutor's office as control in the head.
Another link in the "newbie" case
Why did I decide to return to this topic today? The answer is simple enough. As recently as October 7 of this year in Berlin, a process began over the murderer of a Chechen fighter that fits perfectly into the system of fighting Russia as a state. If we chronologically arrange the well-known events in which it is the state that is accused, then the feeling of systematicity appears.
In short, the events to discredit the state of Russia are developing as follows: the poisoning of the Skripals military agent. - Murder of a militant in Berlin. - The poisoning of Navalny in Tomsk. Russia has been declared the main person involved (the customer of the murder or poisoning). One way or another, Germany is taking an active part in all these three events. And this despite the fact that today Berlin's position in Europe is rather ambiguous. He seems to be the leader of the EU, but, on the other hand, fully obeying the instructions from Washington. So who's at the helm?
There is very little time left until the next press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It can be said with 100% certainty that the issue of the "triple accusation" of state terrorism or, as German lawyers affectionately call it, "the state order for murder" will certainly be raised by some Western journalist. It is necessary to somehow "warm up the topic".
Moreover, (as in other cases with this kind of pseudo-accusations) there is no evidence, and the case materials are strictly classified. The most that accredited journalists are allowed to use are a notebook and a pen. Spectators are generally not allowed to closed sessions. I wonder what such state secrets are heard in the case of the murder of a militant?
What does the media know about the killed
Information about the killed is in the public domain and only now for some reason is classified by the German side.
So, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, 40 years old, is a Kist, an ethnic Chechen from the Pankisi Gorge. During the second Chechen war he commanded a detachment of up to 60 fighters. Although the size of the detachment was constantly changing. He was directly subordinate to Shamil Basayev and Abu al-Walid. I personally know Aslan Maskhadov.
Since 2002 he has been on the federal wanted list as a terrorist. In 2004 he took part in the attack on Nazran. During this operation, the federal forces lost 78 people. In 2004 he left for Georgia. Trying to evade responsibility for terrorism, he changed his name and surname (took his maternal name) to Tornik Kavtarashvili. During the war on 08.08.2008/200/XNUMX, he gathered a detachment of up to XNUMX volunteers. But he did not have time for the war.
He actively cooperates with the Georgian special services. Participated in some operations. For example, he was an intermediary in negotiations between the Georgian special services and Chechen fighters who took hostages in the Lopota gorge in 2012. According to the FSB of Russia, since 2012 he has been involved in the terrorist organization "Caucasian Emirate". Received from the Georgian authorities the title and status of "Emir of Pankisi", who "is responsible for the people in Pankisi".
In 2015, an attempt was made on Kavtarashvili. The terrorist's car was fired at in Tbilisi from a machine gun, but despite 8 bullets, the militant survived. In 2016 he moved to Kiev, and then to Odessa under the wing of Saakashvili, and after his departure he left for Germany, where he asked for political asylum.
What is said about the "killer"
The name of the accused is Vadim Sokolov, according to the passport of a Russian citizen seized from him. A few days before the murder, Sokolov received a visa from the French embassy and flew to Paris. For a day, the tourist studied the sights of this city, and then went to Warsaw.
There, too, he behaved like an ordinary tourist. But, presumably (this is the favorite word of "our partners" - lawyers in the West), in Warsaw he could meet with his accomplice. By a certain Roman D. (In Germany, it was not accepted until the court decision to publish the full name and surname of the suspect. - Note... auth.). On August 22, I left the hotel, leaving all my things there and paying for the room.
Reminds nothing story? Remember how you covered the tracks of the Skripals' killer. In the same way, we looked at museums, cathedrals, wandered around the same places where tourists usually wander. I’m wondering if they wandered around brothels and drug dealerships, would it be less suspicious for Western specialists? But let's continue ...
Next is the story of the "super professional" killer. After all, they will not trust the government order to just anyone. At about noon on 23 August, Sokolov tracked down Khangoshvili. The crime itself was carefully prepared. Maybe. Sokolov rode his bike along a parallel alley in the park in a jacket and a woman's wig with shoulder-length hair.
This is a disguise. It's good that he didn't put the budenovka on his head and didn't sew the colonel's shoulder straps to his jacket. But we read on. When the alleys connected, overtaking Khangoshvili on a bicycle and turning around, Sokolov fired a shot. This is always the case with professionals. He probably also shouted: "Look me in the eyes, murderer!"
Both fell from the shot. One - from the recoil of the pistol, the second - from injury. But Sokolov was armed. Therefore, getting up from the ground, he fired two more shots to Khangoshvili's head. Then, seeing the pursuit, Sokolov got on a bicycle and drove off to the Spree River. Where he threw the bike itself, the gun, the woman's wig and jacket. And then he was detained. In a new guise that did not deceive the German police.
In Russia, everyone is a secret service
I deliberately put the word killer in quotes. From what the press publishes in Germany and other countries, the investigation has not a single real proof of Sokolov's guilt in the murder of the militant. For example, one of the main witnesses was sitting on the summer terrace of a restaurant a hundred meters from the crime scene. The watch started after the first shot. Almost from the moment the second and third shots were fired.
He simply could not see the killer's face. The killer did not turn to face the restaurant. And when he rushed to catch up with him, he saw only a jacket. And even then for a very short time. The rest of the witnesses are also visitors to the same restaurant.
So there is no evidence. The witnesses are weak. So what is the main thing for German justice? Why is the case brought to court?
The answer is obvious. Exactly for the same reason that the Skripal poisoning case was brought to court. In Russia, everyone is allegedly special services and arrives in Europe only to allegedly carry out another contract murder. Russian means guilty!
But then the question arises as to whether a particular person belongs to the Russian special services. After all, German judges cannot judge all Russians (although they probably would like to). And this is where the best investigators, Sherlock Holmes from the pen, journalists, come onto the scene. In our case, these were the journalists of the Russian edition "Insider", the German weekly Der Spiegel and the British investigative center Bellingcat.
It was they who, by a simple comparison of the photographs of the accused and the persons declared by Russia on the international wanted list, quickly established the truth. Vadim Sokolov turns out to be in fact Vadim Nikolaevich Krasilnikov, wanted by Russia in 2012 for murder! I wonder if our special services know about this method of identification?
And then everything is even easier. They simply tracked the moment when Russia withdrew the statement on the search for Krasilnikov, and tied him to the moment of Sokolov's appearance. Interesting? Of course it's interesting. A person appears without a past, and no one suspects it. In particular, from the French when applying for a visa. I am generally silent about non-professionals from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other structures.
Now I will give you one quote. In order to gain an understanding of the train of thought of the investigators. It is very important to understand exactly the logic of all these "probably", "most likely", "clear to everyone" and so on. Personally, she reminded me of a bearded anecdote about a cockroach, from which a research student consistently tore off his legs. And the conclusion of this experimenter after the legs were gone was this:
“Doesn't react to claps. Deaf! "
“The investigation believes that the accused prepared in advance for the murder and received assistance in preparation from the veteran association of the FSB“ Vympel ”.
Roman Dobrokhotov of The Insider, who analyzed the metadata of the defendant's calls, claims that he has visited FSB training centers since the spring of 2019.
“The closer the day of the murder, the more often and more he contacts with various FSB officers, mainly with pennants. Most of them are formally members of Vympel veterans' organizations, which should not mislead anyone, in fact, they are acting FSB officers, ”
- Dobrokhotov is sure. "
So it all came together. I will not talk about white threads and huge stretching. And no one needs it. The case is still being considered behind closed doors.
"We have all the evidence, but we will not tell you about them and we will not show anything."
Sokolov-Krasilnikov is already, at least, a serial killer, or, at the most, an active employee of Vympel.
Gentlemen, aren't you tired?
Of course, as part of the anti-Russian "triad", the Sokolov-Krasilnikov case could well have "shot" if the coronavirus had not appeared. An epic with a criminal case is a long process. Consequently, it requires serious efforts from all participants to maintain the public interest. Prosecutors, lawyers, journalists, politicians should work.
But if there is a topic that worries humanity more than the proposed one, all efforts go down the drain. The planted "bomb" does not explode, but slowly smolders and annoys everyone with its "smoke". How, for example, to evaluate these testimonies of the widow, which she gave on December 1:
“There were only 20 people under the command of my husband (Militants. - Note... auth.) ".
Или:
"In fact, not nearly 80 people died in Nazran, but half as many."
Is it really important for the Western man in the street that not 80 or 90 people were killed, but 40 or 50? Does the fact that the militant commanded not 60, but 20 thugs change anything? An assassin, a terrorist who killed not only soldiers and officers, but civilians.
Nobody especially remembers the killed. He got his. The reason is quite different. It's about the guilt of the murder suspect. The bottom line is, does he deserve the maximum punishment, or is only the minimum enough for him? The murder case can no longer be used as a process on state terrorism in Russia.
In December 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already commented on the case of the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. True, Vladimir Vladimirovich named a slightly different number of those killed in the terrorist attack in Nazran - 90 people. I don’t think that anything has changed much over the year. Especially if you consider that the accused himself remains silent and does not make any deals with the investigation.
It is clear that they will put pressure on him. And in the most cruel way. For the "justice" machine to start "working", only the first recognition is needed. Then the prosecutors and lawyers will do their job. And the defendant understands this. The very case when silence is golden.
Will there be a continuation of provocations
Is the defendant guilty or not? Not my decision. That is why there is a court to examine all the evidence of guilt or innocence. Lawyers work for the same. And the laws apply. But what the British Themis showed us, and what the German judicial system continues to show us now, somehow does not fit with those loud statements of Western politicians about unsurpassed justice and ideal justice in "democratic countries."
Blaming Russia for the destruction of some private individuals ... Why do we need this? After all, those militants who were sheltered by Europe today perfectly “work” for Russia. They reinforce the righteousness of Russians to European inhabitants: by their behavior, the creation of criminal gangs, disregard for the laws of European countries, etc.
Revenge? But can revenge somehow resurrect the dead? And is one more life-sentenced person able to return a son, husband, father to an orphaned family? The best revenge is, apparently, what the former militants see today in their homeland, in their home towns and villages. But now they can only contemplate this through a computer monitor and a TV screen. They are now forever strangers in their former home.
What the US and the EU are doing today works primarily against themselves. Most Russians today are skeptical about everything that Western politicians say, to put it mildly. After all, once Western propaganda convinced its own man in the street that monsters live in Russia.
But today, their own propaganda has already practically confirmed the majority of Russians that the true monsters actually live there, in the West.
What for? And who benefits from this confrontation?
Information