Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurachmanov has lived in exile for years and openly criticizes the leadership of his homeland. At the beginning of December it was said that the opposition figure had been shot. His colleagues are now denying the reports. In Germany he is due to appear in court soon.
The Chechen blogger and activist Tumso Abdurachmanow, whose alleged death was reported a few days ago by several media outlets – including ntv.de – is apparently still alive. Abdurakhmanov is under the protection of Swedish police, a spokesman for the government of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which is fighting for independence from Russia, told Radio Liberty. The spokesman referred to “own sources of information”.
Laurent Lafleur, spokesman for the Munich Higher Regional Court, also confirmed to the Swedish public service Sverigos Radio that Abdurachmanov is alive. Accordingly, the blogger is preparing to testify as a witness in a trial in Bavaria. The trial is said to be about the preparation of an assassination attempt on Abdurakhmanov’s younger brother Mochmad. He is also an activist who campaigns for an independent Chechnya on social media. In June it became known that an assassination attempt on Chechens living in Germany had been prevented. The aim of the planned act was to “silence the brother of the announced victim in particular,” according to the federal prosecutor at the time.
Tumso Abdurachmanov has lived in Sweden for years and is a well-known critic of Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov. A few days ago, the opposition Telegram channel of the “Adat” movement, citing “informants from Europe and Chechnya”, announced that the blogger had been shot by a group of people in Sweden. Abdurakhmanov’s comrades-in-arms confirmed his death, according to a report by Radio Liberty. When asked by ntv.de, the Swedish police said they could neither confirm nor comment on the reports.
Around 475,000 people follow Abdurakhmanov’s channel on YouTube. In a video published in 2019, he described Ahmat Kadyrov as a traitor to Chechnya. Akhmat Kadyrov was the first president of the Russian republic and father of today’s Chechen dictator. Magomed Daudov, speaker of the Chechen parliament, then threatened the blogger with blood revenge.
In February 2020, Abdurachmanov survived an assassination attempt in his apartment in Stockholm. The attacker hit the blogger in the head with a hammer. However, Abdurakhmanov eventually overpowered the perpetrator and called the police. The assassin and his accomplice were sentenced to several years in prison in Sweden. Although the client was not identified, the public prosecutor explained in the process that “all traces lead to Grozny”.
In recent years, several of Kadyrov’s opponents have been killed in Europe. Umar Israilov, a former member of the Chechen presidential bodyguard and later a human rights activist, was shot dead in Vienna in January 2009. The blogger Mamikhan Umarov was also killed there in July 2020 – five months after another blogger who was critical of Kadyrov, Imran Aliev, was found in a hotel room in Lille, France, with 135 stab wounds.
