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