Law enforcement investigators have served a notice of suspicion to Tamerlan Shatayev, a fighter of the Chechen Akhmat unit, for violating the laws and customs of war. According to the investigation, in November 2022, together with accomplices, he participated in the torture of a family of entrepreneurs in Kherson and the robbery of their property worth over 17.7 million UAH.
This was reported by Book of Torturers citing SBU Office in Kherson Region, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
The suspect in the criminal proceedings is Tamerlan Shatayev, born in 1981, a native of Argun, Chechen Republic. The man serves in the Akhmat special rapid response unit and took direct part in hostilities against Ukraine during the temporary occupation of Kherson in November 2022.
The criminal actions began on 1 November 2022, when the suspect and his accomplice arrived at the private house of Kherson entrepreneurs in a Toyota Camry car with ‘AKHMAT95’ license plates. The attackers trespassed into the yard under the pretext of conducting a search, after which they abducted the owner and beat him, demanding money.
Death threats and cash extortion
As a result of physical and psychological pressure, the attackers forced the victim’s wife to hand over all the family’s cash savings amounting to 80,000 USD. During the attacks, the occupiers also used firearms, shooting close to the captive man’s head.
Subsequently, the Russian military conducted a second simulated search, claiming to have found automatic weapons. Threatening to fabricate a criminal case, they seized documents and keys to the vehicles and forced the owners to sign dummy purchase and sale agreements.
Scale of stolen property and legal qualification
In total, the occupiers appropriated 12 DAF trucks with trailers, as well as a Crownline 250 CR high-speed motorboat powered by a 300-horsepower engine. The stolen equipment was forced to be transported across the Dnipro River near the Antonivskyi Bridge to the left bank of the Kherson region.
Tamerlan Shatayev’s actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as a violation of the laws and customs of war. The investigation regards his actions as torture of civilians and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity, which is a direct violation of the Geneva Convention.
Materials regarding another suspect in the same case, Ismail Khizriyev, have already been submitted to the court. Information regarding the crime has been entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.
Photo: Book of Torturers
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