Zarema Muzhakhoyeva
Encyclopedia
Zarema Muzhakhoyeva (born 1980 in Chechnya
) is an Ingush
woman and would-be shahidka
(female suicide bomber
) who surrendered to Moscow police on July 9, 2003, instead of blowing herself up. Before being sent to Moscow, Muzhakhoyeva also failed a mission to attack a bus with the Russian Air Force
personnel in Mozdok
, North Ossetia, and lived in the house of Nur-Pashi Kulayev
in Ingushetia.
Later, a FSB bomb disposal
expert was killed while attempting to defuse Muzhakhoyeva's devices.
Muzhakhoyeva was put in the high-security Lefortovo Prison
and agreed to become an informant for the FSB; later, she also gave several interviews to the Russian media. Despite her full cooperation with the FSB, which led to several arrests and killings of Riyad-us Saliheen members in Moscow and Chechnya, her young age, and her lack of previous criminal record, in April 2004 she was found guilty of all charges including terrorism
and sentenced to 20 years in a prison camp
on demand of the jury
, which did not find any extenuating circumstances
in her case. Her appeal to the Russian Supreme Court
was also rejected.
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
) is an Ingush
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
woman and would-be shahidka
Shahidka
Shahidka |shahid]]), sometimes called "Black Widow", is a term for Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers, who made themselves known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002...
(female suicide bomber
Female suicide bomber
Though the majority of suicide bombers have been male, female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks.-History:Female suicide bombers have been employed in several conflicts, by a variety of organizations, against both military and civilian targets.*In Lebanon on April 9, 1985, Sana'a...
) who surrendered to Moscow police on July 9, 2003, instead of blowing herself up. Before being sent to Moscow, Muzhakhoyeva also failed a mission to attack a bus with the Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
personnel in Mozdok
Mozdok
Mozdok is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in southern Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, north of Vladikavkaz, the republic's capital. The name of the town literally means "dense forest" in the Kabardian language...
, North Ossetia, and lived in the house of Nur-Pashi Kulayev
Nur-Pashi Kulayev
Nur-Pashi Kulayev , a native of Engenoi, Chechnya, is thought to be the sole survivor of the 32 hostage-takers in the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis, although Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev denied the claim, stating that one other escaped....
in Ingushetia.
Later, a FSB bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
expert was killed while attempting to defuse Muzhakhoyeva's devices.
Muzhakhoyeva was put in the high-security Lefortovo Prison
Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison is a prison in Moscow, Russia, which, since 2005, has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It was built in 1881...
and agreed to become an informant for the FSB; later, she also gave several interviews to the Russian media. Despite her full cooperation with the FSB, which led to several arrests and killings of Riyad-us Saliheen members in Moscow and Chechnya, her young age, and her lack of previous criminal record, in April 2004 she was found guilty of all charges including terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and sentenced to 20 years in a prison camp
Prison camp
Prison camp may be:* Concentration or internment camp* Federal prison camp, low-security facility among those on list of U.S. federal prisons* Labor camp* Death or extermination camp* Prisoner-of-war camp...
on demand of the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
, which did not find any extenuating circumstances
Extenuating circumstances
In law, extenuating circumstances in criminal cases are unusual or extreme facts leading up to or attending the commission of the offense which, though an offense has been committed without legal justification or excuse, mitigate or reduce its gravity from the point of view of punishment or moral...
in her case. Her appeal to the Russian Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is the court of last resort in Russian administrative law, civil law and criminal law cases. It also supervises the work of lower courts. Its predecessor is the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union....
was also rejected.
External links
- Turncoat bomber vows revenge for 20-year jail term, The TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 9 April 2004