- Date
- 11/08/2010
- First
- Magomedvagif
- Surname
- SULTANMAGOMEDOV
- Sex/Age
- M, 58
- Incident
- homicide
- Motive
- ?J
- Place
- street
- Job
- director
- Medium
- television
- Federal District Plus
- North Caucasus
- Street, Town, Region
- Makhachkala, Dagestan
- Freelance
- no
- Local/National
- local, "Makhachkala TV"
- Other Ties
- former head of Islamic education at Board of Muslims
- Cause of Death
- shot
- Legal Qualification
- Impunity
- investigation
KILLED AT THE SECOND ATTEMPT (August 2010)
Magomed Vagif (Sultan) Sultanmagomedov, editor-in-chief of Makhachkala TV and former head of the Islamic Education Division at the Dagestan Religious Board of Muslims, was shot dead in Makhachkala on 11 August 2010. His car came under submachine-gun and he was taken to hospital where he died of the wounds he had received. This was not the first attempt on Sultanmagomedov’s life. Early on 18 November 2008 a bomb was detonated at the turn of Kazbekov St. and Akushinsky Avenue, leaving a few holes in his car as it drove past. The driver and passengers only received a contusion and several light injuries and were discharged from hospital later in the day.
*
ANOTHER ASSASSINATION IN DAGESTAN (August 2010)
Sultanmagomedov took over at Makhachkala TV after his predecessor, Abdullah (Telman) ALISHAYEV, was shot and killed on 2 September 2008. Both were ideological opponents of Wahhabism. The police launched an investigation into that early November attack, on charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of ammunition and explosives, but no progress was ever reported.
Over the past twelve months and more, Dagestan has become the most dangerous part of Russia for journalists. Shamil ALIYEV, the founder and head of the radio stations Priboy and Vatan and the TNT-Makhachkala television network, and his bodyguard Saidmagomed Ubaidullayev, were shot and killed in May 2010 by unknown criminals who fled the scene of the crime. Yet another person was wounded. A few days later, Said IBRAGIMOV, director of the local television channel TBS, was killed in the republic’s Sergokalinsky district.
Last August Malik AKHMEDILOV, an editor with the “Khakiqat” (Truth) newspaper, was murdered in Makhachkala, and crews from REN TV and “TV Makhachkala” were attacked by unknown persons in Derbent in October 2009. Earlier still, in February 2008, Zaur Gaziyev, a commentator for the weekly “Svobodnaya Respublika”, and TV host Ruslan Gabibulayev were beaten up in Makhachkala and in March, the president of the Dagestan TV and Radio Company Gadzhi ABASHILOV was assassinated in the republican capital of Makhachkala.
Since then, only the Abashilov killing has reached court. Recently it was returned to the investigators by the judge for further investigation.
GDF Digest
No. 486 (16 August 2010)