Russia's Makhachkala Mayor Arrested In Murder Investigation

Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov, whom a recent opinion poll showed would have beaten acting Republic of Daghestan President Ramazan Abdulatipov in a direct election for republic head, has been arrested at his home. He was taken into custody on June 1 and transported by military helicopter to Moscow for questioning about his suspected involvement in the murder in December 2011 of Investigative Committee official Arsen Gadjibekov in Kaspiisk. That killing was one of several that the Federal Investigative Committee launched an investigation into a few months ago. Ten of Amirov’s subordinates have also been detained, as has Amirov’s nephew, deputy Kaspiisk mayor Yusup Djafarov. Amirov, 59, was first elected mayor in 1998. He has survived over a dozen assassination attempts, one of which, in 1993, left him paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. Amirov, 59, a long-term member of the ruling United Russia party, won the title of Russia’s best mayor at a contest in late April, Makhachkala’s administration’s site said.

http://www.rferl.org/content/caucasus-report-daghestan-makhachkala-mayor-arrested/25004594.html
http://en.ria.ru/crime/20130602/181468321/Makhachkala-Mayor-Gets-2-Month-Arrest-in-Investigator-Murder.html