Two Chechen natives instigated a brawl last July that killed football fan Yury Volkov, the Investigative Committee said as it wrapped up its inquiry into the death.
The Chechens, Akhmedpasha Aidayev, 23, and Bekhan Ibragimov, 25, were motivated by "hooliganism" and face lengthy prison terms if convicted in connection with the death, the committee said in a statement.
“In the course of the hooligan fight, the accused caused bodily harm to the young people, including knife wounds. Aidayev stabbed Volkov in the heart. Volkov died of his injuries in the hospital.”
Aidayev and Ibragimov faced down eight ethnic Slavs — six men and two women — in the July 10 brawl at the Chistiye Prudy metro station and immediately took out knives to “suppress the victims’ desire to resist,” Kommersant reported Thursday, citing investigators.
Aidayev, 22, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of killing Volkov, while Ibragimov, who has been charged with inflicting grave bodily harm, faces up to eight years.
A third Chechen, Magomed Suleimanov, 24, who first confessed to killing Volkov but later denied any involvement in the fight, is considered a witness by police.
The clash fueled ethnic tensions in Moscow and prompted three large rallies by Volkov's supporters.
A second clash between ethnic Chechens and Slavs in December also killed a football fan and led to rioting by the Kremlin walls a week later. Investigators this week also faulted Chechens for starting that fight.
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