Eight Russian Citizens Kept at Guantanamo Base

Russian officials discuss a possibility to deliver them to Russia

The names of eight Russian citizens jailed at the Guantanamo base in Cuba have recently become known. They were detained in Afghanistan during the anti-terrorist operation conducted by the American troops. Russian nationals' names were exposed by the American government-controlled radio station РС/РСЕ.

According to the information from the radio station, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov has recently discussed a possibility to deliver those people to Russia. According to РС/РСЕ, the following eight Russian citizens are being currently kept at the Guantanamo base:

Shamil Hajiyev from Bashkortostan
Ravil Gumarov from Bashkortostan
Rasul Kudayev from Kabardino-Balkaria
Ruslan Odigov from Kabardino-Balkaria
Ravil Mingazov from Tatarstan
Rustam Akmerov from Chelyabinsk
Timur Ishmuradov from the Tyumen region
Airat Vakhitov from Tatarstan. 

The Russian Office of the Public Prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings against the Russian captives. The criminal  case is based on border transgression and mercenary service.

Rasul Kudayev comes from the Kabardino-Balkaria republic. He was born in 1982, in 1995 he became the republic's champion in wrestling among young men. His mother Fatima Tekayeva and brother Arsen Mokayev said, in 2000 Kudayev left for Central Asia, because he would manage to achieve good results in his sports career there.

Ravil Gumarov comes from the Sverdlovsk region, he is an unsuccessful businessman. In 1997, he became a member of a national-radical movement. He also attended the now-closed madrasah, an Islamic school. Some "students" of the school had "practical classes" in Chechnya, in Shamil Basayev's camps. The Russian FSB department in Tatarstan said, Gumarov attempted to go to Chechnya and Afghanistan several times. Apparently, he succeeded in 2000, when he disappeared. His ex-wife and three underage children are currently residing in the city of Naberezhniye Chelny.

Almaz Sharipov (or Shamil Hajiyev) - comes from the republic of Bashkortostan. Before crossing the Russian border, he was a member of an Islamic organization, like two other captives. The investigation determined, Almaz Sharipov's real name was Shamil Hajiyev, he was born in 1971. Before leaving the Russian territory, Hajiyev was a law-enforcement officer, an investigator in Tatarstan. In addition, he was a student of the law department of the Ufa State University. He left his job in 1999 - since that time his relatives have not had any information about him.

Airat Vakhitov - former resident of Naberezhniye Chelny, the spiritual leader of the above-mentioned Wahabist madrasah. The information about it was received from one of the former leaders of the national-radical movement in Naberezhniye Chelny.