Why did the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia publish false data?

The person detained in the case of the knife attack on a police officer turned out to be a Russian citizen, not a citizen of Tajikistan as previously reported.

The Investigative Committee reported on August 27 about the detention of a “foreigner” who threw two Molotov cocktails at the vehicles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Budgetary Institution “Housing Maintenance” in the area of Shchelkovo Highway in Moscow, and then attempted to attack police officers with a knife.

It was reported that the suspect was a citizen of Tajikistan. A Telegram channel close to the security forces, Baza, specified that the attacker was a “26-year-old citizen of Tajikistan” and published a video of his detention.

However, the portal “Agency,” citing leaks from the Russian Register from 2015, revealed that the “foreigner” was 25-year-old native of Saratov and citizen of Russia Sheravgan Kunjumov.

He was born and registered in Saratov, where he received a Russian passport at the age of 14, and later moved to Balashikha. The man’s data remained in the leaks from the Moscow school database from 2015.

According to media reports, Kunjumov was detained in 2017 on charges of preparing explosions in shopping centers and public transport, and in 2019 he was convicted on seven counts, including preparation for a terrorist act, and sentenced to nearly 8 years in a general regime colony. The court’s decision stated that Kunjumov, “being a supporter of radical Islamist views,” was preparing terrorist acts to influence the Russian authorities with the aim of withdrawing their troops from Syria, at the suggestion of a participant in the “Islamic State,” along with three citizens of Tajikistan. In the court’s decision, Kunjumov is referred to as a citizen of Russia.

After being released from prison, Kunjumov was under administrative control and was not allowed to leave Balashikha without obtaining permission from the police.

It is unknown why he went to Moscow.

Neither the Investigative Committee nor the Ministry of Internal Affairs has yet published a retraction of their statements.

It is also unclear why the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs accused citizens of Tajikistan of committing such a high-profile crime.