ASLANBEK ARSAYEV
* Aslanbek Arsayev fought the Russians in the first 1994-96 Chechen war and was wounded. In 1998 he was nominated as the minister for state security in the semi independent state of Chechnya in Aslan Maskhadov administration.
Aslanbek Arsayev promised to establish the “cult of law” in Chechnya amid rampant kidnapping by armed bands and illegal oil refining but failed to achieve serious results.
On 10/13/1998 he issued a televised ultimatum to all kidnappers demanding the release within three days of an estimated 103 forcibly held hostages. The ultimatum failed to reach any meaningful achievement in outlawed Chechnya. In 01/1999 Aslanbek Arsayev himself escaped an assassination attempt in Grozny, Chechnya’s capital.
When Russia invaded Chechnya in 2000 and toppled the Chechen regime – Aslanbek Arsayev went underground in order to carry on the struggle against Russia.
On 03/15/2001 Aslanbek Arsayev led the Medina Hijacking in which a Russia airplane with 170 passengers in a flight from Istanbul to Moscow was hijacked to Medina, Saudi Arabia. On 03/16/2001 Saudi anti-terror unit stormed the plane and Aslanbek Arsayev was caught along with his brother Supian Arsayev. There is no reliable information about the whereabouts of Aslanbek Arsayev and his brother Supian Arsayev after they were extradited to Russia. They desapeared in one of the detention centers of Russia and it is unclear whether they are still alive.
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