A prominent exiled foe of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been assassinated in Sweden.
Today the Telegram channel 1ADAT and Radio Free Europe reported that 36-year-old Tumso Abdurakhmanov was shot at night.
One of Vladimir Putin 's closest henchmen, 46-year-old Kadyrov, has previously been accused of ordering extrajudicial assassinations abroad.
Abdurakhmanov was a huge and important enemy of the Chechen warlord who is backing Putin's war in Ukraine.
Back in 2019 in a threatening warning, a leading Kadyrov ally declared a "blood feud" against the blogger.
Abdurakhmanov had gone missing several days ago in Sweden where he had believed he was safe after obtaining political asylum.
1ADAT reported that "rumours of his death” - circulating for several days and initially denied - had “turned out to be true".
It added that the information had been obtained "through a network of informers from Europe and Chechnya" without disclosing further details for security reasons.
Abdurakhmanov’s brother who was also reported as missing has been "hidden by the secret services” in Sweden, it was stated.
The channel reported: “We have enough information to confirm Tumso’s death.
“His brother Muhammad has been put into hiding by special services for safety reasons.
“We cannot go into any more detail for the safety of our informers and ourselves, too.
“Tumso was shot dead by a group of people during night time, the details of the assassination are now being clarified.”
There was no immediate comment from the Swedish secret services.
He previously worked as a senior manager for a state enterprise in Chechyna but went abroad following a conflict with a relative of strongman Kadyrov.
In exile he ran a YouTube channel with almost half a million followers which infuriated the Putin crony.
Three years ago he called Kadyrov’s father - first president of Chechnya, Akhmat Kadyrov - a “traitor” to the Chechen people.
Two years ago he was attacked in his Swedish apartment when an unknown assailant attacked him with a hammer.
A Swedish court later found two Russian nationals guilty of attempted assassination and sentenced them to eight and 12 years in prison, reported Novaya Gazeta - Europe.
One of the men, Ruslan Mamayev, testified that he had been acting on the instructions of the Chechen authorities that had promised to pay him 50,000 euros.
There were claims that Abdurakhmanov had links to ISIS.
Three years ago Magomed Daudov, a close Kadyrov acolyte and speaker of the Chechen parliament, whose nickname is ‘Lord', declared a blood feud against him.
Daudov, now 42, is seen on video threatening: “I officially declare blood revenge on you after your words about [Ramzan Kadyrov’s father Akhmad Kadyrov]
“You are my enemy, and the enemy of my brothers, and we’ll keep seeking you.
“We are not going to kill you, so don’t say tomorrow we threatened to kill you.
“We will give you an unusual kind of fun.
“I am not scared of anyone but God.
“If I do what I have promised you to do, I don’t care about the rest, even if I die.”
The assassination - now confirmed - is believed to have been on 2 December after which the brothers were both out of touch.
No further details are known.
Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya, a republic that is part of Russia, since 2007 has a personality cult around him.
He is frequently accused by Russian and international human rights groups of overseeing grave human rights abuses including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and targeting the LGBT community.
A dad-of-13 with three wives, he has recruited tens of thousands of “volunteers” to the war in Ukraine and sent three of his own sons to the frontline, he claimed.
A colonel-general in the Russian national guard, Kadyrov has strongly criticised the war tactics of Putin’s commanders, demanding a blitzkrieg against Ukraine, yet he remains a Kremlin favourite.
