SUPPORT FOR PAROLE OF SHARPUDI ELFIROVICH ISRAILOV

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000412

SIPDIS

FOR CA/VO/F/P, DRL (WENDY SILVERMAN, EDWARD GRULICH, SUSAN
CORKE),EUR/NB (H. MARTIN MCDOWELL)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2019
TAGS: PHUM, RU, NO
SUBJECT: SUPPORT FOR PAROLE OF SHARPUDI ELFIROVICH ISRAILOV

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Kevin Johnson for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d)

1. (C) By separate cable to CA/VO/F/P which will follow this
one, post is requesting Significant Public Benefit Parole
(SPBP) for Sharpudi ("Ali") Elfirovich Israilov (DOB: 17 Jan
1956). This cable provides additional classified information
concerning the justification of his parole request.

BACKGROUND
--------------

2. (C) Post was contacted by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee
(NHC),a prominent human rights organization working in the
states of the former Soviet Union. Mr. Israilov (hereafter
"Ali") is a Russian national, and a Chechen. He currently has
a case pending before the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg against President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya. His
son, Umar S. Israilov (hereafter "Umar"),had a similar case
before the same court, and was assassinated, in Vienna, in
January 2009, probably by covert Chechen security forces or
hired assassins. A New York Times story about the case of the
son,s assassination can be found at:
www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/world/europe/
14chechnya.html? r=2&scp=2&sq=israilov&st=cse

3. (C) The NHC believes that the FSB was probably consulted
about this killing, and gave its tacit approval. Now the
father fears for his own life in Norway. The complaints of
the father (Ali) and the son (Umar) are very similar. Ali was
imprisoned by Kadyrov to punish him for helping his son
escape the country. Ali was abducted, tortured, and held
illegally for 10 months. His complaint alleges that he
personally witnessed President Kadyrov torture a fellow
prisoner with electricity.

4. (C) Ali has asylum status in Norway. The NHC believes that
the Norwegian security services are not offering Ali
sufficient protection. As of now, Ali,s only protection is
that the Norwegian police have given him a beeper. The NHC
has requested further protection, and a change of apartment
(his current location can be googled) but have not received
it yet. The NHC believes that President Kadyrov is waiting to
see the reaction to the first killing, or waiting for the
case to die down, or waiting for Ali,s resubmission of his
complaint in Strasbourg, before deciding whether to kill Ali
as well.

5. (C) Although Kadyrov has been praised by Putin, the NHC
believes that he fears that if he becomes too much of a pain
for Putin, he will lose his privileged status. These human
rights cases are an embarrassment for the Russian government,
and Kadyrov,s logic may be that an assassination is
preferable to the continuation of these cases in Strasbourg.

JUSTIFICATION FOR PAROLE
--------------

6. (C) Ali,s complaint at the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg stands as one of the few challenges to the
system of impunity being set up in Kadyrov,s Chechnya.
Recently, two killings confirm Kadyrov,s willingness to use
assassination as a tool. At the end of March, Sulim Yamadaev,
a warlord affiliated with the GRU (Russian military
intelligence) was assassinated, as he was a political
competitor to Kadyrov. In February, Musa Ataev, the former
"foreign minister" of the Caucasus Emirate was murdered in
Turkey. These are but the two most recent assassinations.

7. (C) Furthermore of the three people who have been willing
to make legal complaints about Kadyrov, two have been killed.
Only Ali remains. His son Umar was assassinated for making a
complaint similar to Ali,s. Magomed-Salakh Masaev, a Muslim
preacher was killed (August 2009) along with his lawyer
Stanislav Markelov (January 2009),after filing a legal
complaint against Kadyrov in Russia and accusing Kadyrov of
torture in an article in Novaya Gazeta.

8. (C) Ali,s sister has recently been called in for
questioning in Chechnya; this follows a pattern where
complainants, families are harassed as a warning, before
Kadyrov takes the final step of assassination (perhaps in the
hope that the complainant will have second thoughts about his
legal proceeding).

9. (C) The NHC, Freedom House, and HRW have cooperated to
find a place in the US for Ali to stay until the case is
completed and the issue blows over. Freedom House has found a
safe place for him to stay in a community where he can speak
Russian, and will provide him with living expenses and a
local network. Ali is very interested in going, and fears the
threat to his well being while in Norway, for the reasons
previously discussed. At the same time, Ali,s family will
stay in Norway, where they are becoming integrated
economically and socially into Norwegian life. The NHC
emphasizes that this will be a temporary move to the US, as
they believe that Kadyrov is quite savvy and the various
assassinations have been pragmatic rather than vindictive;
after the court case is over, Ali will present no further
threat to Kadyrov.

10. (C) Post believes keeping Ali alive serves clear USG
interests and he will be substantially safer in the US than
he is in Norway. Post requests a speedy determination that
he is eligible for Significant Public Benefit Parole.
JOHNSON