Chechen strongman denies accusations of being linked to attack on former spokesperson of Uzbekistan’s president
Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the small republic of Chechnya within the Russian Federation, has denied accusations of Chechens being involved in an assassination attempt on Komil Allamjonov, a former spokesperson for the president of Uzbekistan. Kadyrov promised to find out who was behind the «provocative fake news.»
«Some pro-Western and oppositional media outlets in the country decided not to wait for the result of the official investigations and speculated that Chechens and even myself were somehow linked to that attack,» Kadyrov wrote on Telegram.
He also described the news as a tool third-party individuals use to play political games and disrupt relations between Russia and Uzbekistan.
«I am convinced that we will see a lot of other publications in the style of Western disinformation. One way or another, my dear brothers from Uzbekistan and I, we will find out who was behind the dissemination of this provocative fake news,» Kadyrov highlighted.
The attack on Allamjonov happened on the night of Oct. 26 in the Qibray district of the Tashkent region. According to Kun.uz, two unidentified individuals made several shots at Allamjonov’s Range Rover. However, neither he nor his drivers were injured.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Uzbekistan has opened two criminal cases to investigate an assassination attempt and illegal trafficking of arms. Uzbeki authorities have already arrested four individuals.
The day after the incident, two men took responsibility for the attack in a video published online. According to Ozodlik.org, one of them was Shokhruhk Akhmedov, who in 2021 was detained by Turkish authorities for seven months after becoming a suspect in attacks on Kadyrov’s critics along with several other Chechens. Even though the man faced 15 to 20 years in jail, he was released from the courtroom. Some Turkish media outlets speculated that this happened after the president of Chechnya had intervened in the litigation.
Allamjonov is a close ally of Saida Mirziyoyeva, the oldest daughter of the president of Uzbekistan. Citing some sources familiar with the matter, Ozodlik reported that Allamjonov doesn’t get along with Otabek Umarov, the youngest son-in-law of the country’s president. Allegedly he wasn’t happy with leaks putting a spotlight on a company he is linked with. Allamjonov was the one who he got blamed for that «informational attack.»
However, other sources said that the attack on Allamjonov was designed to compromise Oybek Tursunov, the oldest son-in-law of the president, who allegedly became jealous of his spouse Saida Mirziyoyeva.
«If Allamjonov was dead, they would blame Tursunov for losing his mind because of jealousy,» a source in the Uzbek government told the media outlet.
After the assassination plan failed, so-called «media curators» requested activists, bloggers and journalists to spread the narrative that the former spokesperson for the president faked the attack by himself, Ozodlik reported.
However, experts believe that the attack on Allamjonov is a demonstration of the fact that some third-party forces want the position of Saida, the first aide of the president, to weaken.
