1 June 2011 three men were convicted by the Vienna Landesgericht to long prison sentences for the killing of Chechen exile Umar Israilov, who was shot on the streets of Vienna in January 2009.
“The Civil Rights Defenders” organization reports that the man who allegedly fired the fatal shots, Russian national Lecha Bogatyrov, a former member of a Chechen paramilitary force loyal to Russian authorities, remains a fugitive of justice.
A request by the Austrian court to interview him and four other Chechens connected to the murder trial has not been answered by the Russian justice authorities.
Civil Rights Defenders, along with several other human rights organizations, urge the Austrian authorities not to passively stand by this apparently deliberate attempt at obstructing justice by Russian authorities.
