A Moscow court on Monday convicted three men for the 2008 murder of Ruslan Yamadayev, a military commander and rival of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader, jailing them for between 14 and 20 years. Ruslan Yamadayev, one of the most powerful opponents of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, was shot dead in his car in the centre of Moscow in 2008. Ruslan's brother, Sulim, was shot dead in Dubai six months later.
The judge sentenced gunman Aslanbek Dadayev to 20 years in prison for the Moscow killing, while accomplices Elimpasha Khatsuyev and Timur Isayev were jailed for 15 and 14 years in prison respectively. "(The accused) developed a plan to physically neutralise Yamadayev," said judge Dmitry Monekin. "They fulfilled a contract to murder him." Investigators have not said who they believe ordered the killing. Yamadayev fought against Russia in the first Chechen war in 1994-1996 before switching to the Russian side during the second Chechen campaign three years later.