On September 11, it was reported that the famous twin brothers Khussein and Khasan Askhabov were arrested in Phuket. MMA fighters are accused of several serious crimes: torture, inhuman treatment and kidnapping. Telecomasia.net reports the details of the criminal incident.
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Khussein Askhabov is a French fighter of Chechen origin with a record of 23-1. The 28-year-old athlete fled war in Chechnya to Moscow, performed in a dance band, trained in various gyms, lived in many countries, and most recently settled in France. Khussein had a record of 23 wins and no losses, but lost to Jamall Emmers in his first fight in the UFC in February 2023. Although Khussein planned to become champion.
Khasan Askhabov is Khussein's twin brother. He is the WWFC world champion in the featherweight division. Khasan also competes in MMA, his record is 23-2, 1 NC.
Why were the Askhabov brothers detained in Thailand?
According to Phuket News, three men broke into a villa owned by an Italian tourist in Phuket on September 3, dragged the victim out of his bedroom and then blindfolded and gagged him.
Local authorities said the robbers tortured the victim throughout the night to gain access to his bank cards, phones, his safe and computer. The three men stole €40,000 in cash from the safe and €16,000 in Dubai using a debit card. The Italian man's passport was also on the list of missing items.
The robbers stole a Rolex Daytona watch ($68,000), a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch ($107,000), a Graff watch ($45,000), a Macbook, a new iPhone 13 and a new iPhone 14, a pair of sunglasses, and the total damage exceeded $300 thousand dollars.
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Phuket News recounts the timeline of events. The robbery began when three unknown men entered the Italian's villa through a side door and seized him as he slept at around 23:00 local time on September 3.
The attackers then received a phone call from the man who had organized the attack. The three men requested information, including the location of a disk with passwords to cryptocurrency wallets, although the Italian man himself denied its existence. The victim later said that he had never seen the robbers.
Then there was the first beating, which lasted about 30 minutes and ended with another phone call from the crime mastermind with further instructions. The tortures continued throughout the night: the Italian suffered multiple bruises to his face and body from the beatings. Eventually the thieves fled the villa, leaving the Italian bound and gagged.
Surveillance footage from the resort shows the Italian man rolling - still bound and gagged, but no longer blindfolded - towards the bike and motorcycle parking lot.
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The three attackers were later identified. They were reportedly going through immigration control at Phuket International Airport at 6:58 a.m. last Monday ( September 4). The three men boarded flight EK397, traveling from Phuket to Dubai, and are believed to have made a turn to Kazakhstan. The publication notes that the Askhabov brothers are suspected of organizing the crime. The victim said that he met the brothers at a beach cafe in Cherngtalay about a year ago.
On September 5, the Askhabov brothers were arrested in Thailand, as reported by a local police colonel. Khussein and Khasan are charged with three serious crimes - torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and kidnapping. The brothers are in serious trouble, and if their organizing the crime is confirmed, they will face substantial jail time.