DUBAI // Two men accused of being involved in the assassination of the former Chechen warlord Sulim Yamadayev have been referred to court, with a date for their first hearing expected imminently, Dubai Public Prosecution said yesterday. Yamadayev, who commanded pro-Moscow forces and was an opponent of the Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov, was shot in the basement car park of his Jumeirah Beach Residence apartment in Dubai in March.
Two men had been charged as accessories to the murder, said Yousif Hassan al Mutawa, the chargé d'affaires for the Attorney General. He identified them only as an Iranian national and a Tajik national. Mr al Mutawa said interviews with the accused had led investigators to other suspects in this country and abroad. "This indictment has been made after a very concise investigation by Dubai public prosecutors. We have gathered technical evidence and witness accounts which revealed to us all the involved parties inside and outside of the UAE."
Mr al Mutawa said an unidentified gunman had been lying in wait for Yamadayev, who was shot in front of his bodyguard as he got out of his car. The gun was allegedly given to the killer by the Iranian. Some of the assailants had fled the country, said Mr al Mutawa. An Interpol warrant had been issued for the arrests and extraditions of the remaining parties, he added. The two accused were expected to appear in court within the next two weeks although a date had not yet been set, said an official at the public prosecution office.
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