Emran Nawruzbekov (39), first lieutenant counterintelligence in the Russian secret service FSB, was said to participate in Turkey and Syria in “a special operation against citizens of the Russian Federation who have fled Russia and are wanted” in Turkey and Syria for the Russian president Vladimir Putin (70). For this he was given a passport – issued directly by the Kremlin.
But instead of complying and handing over his fellow citizens to the Russian state, Nawruzbekov fled and applied for political asylum in Poland, the human rights organization “Gulagu.net” learned in a two-hour interview with the agent. Now his family living in Russia has been arrested by the FSB – to silence him?
«The FSB monitors all criminal activity»
The repression against his family members was initiated by the “central apparatus” after he publicly testified about the crimes committed by the FSB, Nawruzbekov said on appeal. Due to his high position in the Russian secret service, Nawruzbekov has a goldmine of sensitive information that can cause the Russian state major problems.
According to the former spy, the FSB is mainly active in the Russian republics of Dagestan and Chechnya with disinformation campaigns. “Essentially, the FSB controls all criminal activity in these regions.” When the liquor store bombings in Makhachkala, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan, took place in the summer of 2013, Russia blamed Muslim extremists – but the FSB was said to be behind it.
And not only that: according to Navruzbekov, the FSB kidnaps, tortures and blackmails business people who can pay ransom. For this purpose, the FSB has its own torture chambers throughout the region. For example, MSF Dutch aid worker Arjan Erkel, 52, was abducted in Makhachkala in 2004 and spent 607 days in detention awaiting ransom payment – a work of the FSB, if Navruzbekov is to be believed.
Desertion is punishable by imprisonment
To conduct the interview, Navruzbekov risked his life and the lives of his relatives – but he said it was worth it. Because he wants to publicize the “rottenness” of the Russian government. When Navruzbekov offered to defect to other FSB officers, they all told him that their oath to the country was more important – and that they had families in Russia. Some are clearly scared, others just seem to be waiting for something to happen.
Anyone who speaks out against the regime in Russia is declared an “extremist” and their children are not allowed to go to school or university, the former secret agent explains in an interview. But it could be worse, as the example of Ramazan Rasulov shows.
Well-informed Kremlin expert Igor Sushko summarizes further information from the interview on Twitter. According to ex-spy Navruzbekov, Razulov was preparing to escape Russian intelligence restrictions and fled to the UK with more than 250 gigabytes of evidence when he was caught. Razulov was first sent to Makhachkala in Dagestan for interrogation and is now being held in Moscow’s FSB Lefortovo prison, Navruzbekov said. Since 2014, when he was first sent to the Donbass in Ukraine, Rasulov has painstakingly gathered evidence to convict Russian intelligence. It is not clear how he is now.
The Russian secret service FSB and the Russian government declined to comment on the allegations against “Gulagu.net”. (chs)