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09/07/2010

It was 12 o'clock when the Chechen exile Umar Israilov collapsed in a street in Vienna on Jan. 13, 2009. Two men had followed him and likely assaulted him. Then shots were fired -- and the perpetrators fled.

The murder, carried out in broad daylight, triggered outrage in Austria and beyond. Investigators think the killing was ordered from the top, by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. In their report, he is described as having commissioned the contract killing. Israilov had publicly accused Kadyrov of torture -- and was mercilessly pursued as a result.

But Israilov's killing does not simply shine a light onto the Chechen leader's brutal methods. It is also reveals a lot about how the Austrian authorities work.

Israilov would probably still be alive today had Austrian officials heeded the warnings, the calls for help and the information, which lay in front of them. Lawyers and people working with exiles had repeatedly called for police protection -- in vain. There was not even an official response when an exiled Chechen turned himself into the authorities and admitted he had been ordered to keep Israilov under surveillance.

Sharing the Blame?

When the trial against the primary suspect begins in a few weeks time, it won't just be the accused under the spotlight. The heat will also be on Austrian authorities. How much blame do they share for the death of Israilov?

There may, however, be much more at stake. The indictment prepared by the Viennese public prosecutor's office, which SPIEGEL has obtained, raises serious questions about the Austrian officials involved in the case. On page 20 of the indictment, one of those suspected of having been involved in the Israilov hit, Kosum J., is outed as an "informant for the Vienna Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism." The suspect has lived in Vienna since 2003 and was officially granted asylum in 2007. Kosum has been an informant at least since 2008.

But Kosum's activities did not stop there: He is also suspected of having played a role in Israilov's murder. Investigators accuse Kosum of having encouraged those responsible to commit the crime and of helping them flee the scene -- and refers to numerous telephone calls that would prove the accusation. In the words of the final police report: "The conclusion drawn from an analysis of the crime would suggest that J. knew about the plot from the start and was involved in planning it."

What, though, did he tell his handler at the Vienna Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism?

Viennese Officials Stonewall

At 12.07, shortly after the murder, Kosum got in touch with his handler. Just minutes before, investigators are convinced, his brother Turpal had killed Israilov as he fled. A few days after the murder, Kosum went underground, but maintained contact with the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, according to the indictment. In November 2009 he returned to Vienna to face investigators.

But the circumstances surrounding his return are mysterious. Did he cut a deal? The investigation refers to the "conditions of his return." In a telephone call, Kosum allegedly pledged to clear things up. Later he only gave imprecise information. He was then released, and suddenly he ceased cooperating.

The Viennese public prosecutor's office continues to consider him a defendant. But his case has been separated from the primary trial. Does Kosum know too much?

Light is sure to be shed on the issue when Kosum's handler takes the stand. But for now, Viennese authorities are stonewalling. Just hours after SPIEGEL released details over the weekend about Kosum J.'s contacts to Austrian officials, Rudolf Gollia, spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry claimed that "Kosum J. was never an informant of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, neither on a local nor a national level."

A day later, though, that denial was followed by another one. "Yes, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had contact with Kosum J. both before and after the killing of Israilov."