Man Convicted For Two 1999 Terrorist Attacks In Moscow Found Dead In Prison

Khalid Khuguyev in a 2009 photo

A man sentenced for his involvement in two terrorist attacks in Moscow in 1999 has been found dead in a Siberian prison.

Media reports in Russia on February 15 identified the man as 65-year-old Khalid Khuguyev, who was serving his 22-year prison term in Correctional Colony No. 47 in the town of Volchanets in the Primorsky Krai region.

Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee's branch in Primorsky Krai issued a statement on February 15 saying that a 65-year-old inmate was killed by another 41-year-old inmate in a brawl with a knife, adding that a probe had been launched into the death.

The statement did not mention Khuguyev’s name.

Khuguyev and another man, Magumadzair Gadzhikayev, were convicted of the organization and implementation of terrorist acts in 1999 in the Russian capital.

Eleven people were injured in a bomb attack carried out at the Intourist hotel in April 1999, and one person was killed and 39 injured in a second bombing in August the same year in the Okhotny Ryad shopping complex.

Khuguyev was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison and Gadzhikayev to 15 years. In 2020, the Supreme Court cut the prison terms to 22 and 13 years, respectively.

Khuguyev was expected to be released later this year.

With reporting by Interfax and RIA Novosti