Former bare-knuckle fighter Tigran Chichakyan has been placed in pretrial detention after being accused of kidnapping, marking his latest legal trouble following a prison sentence for the killing of Azerbaijani footballer Emil Huseynov in Russia's Yekaterinburg, Russian outlet E1.RU reports.


According to a source cited by the outlet, 30-year-old Chichakyan was detained on August 7. A 33-year-old man is also reportedly involved in the case. The two are accused of kidnapping committed by a group using violence for financial motives under paragraphs “a,” “c,” “g” and “h” of Part 2 of Article 126 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Sinarsky District Court of Kamensk-Uralsky placed both suspects in a pretrial detention centre at the request of investigators, the joint press service of the Sverdlovsk region courts said.


In 2016, Chichakyan was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of robbery and murder. He was released on August 16, 2024. He had recently been living in the Beloyarsky District.


The murder case for which Chichakyan was convicted attracted considerable attention. According to investigators, the Armenian national, who was 18 at the time, was at a cafe on Alpinistov Street on April 19, 2015. Azerbaijani footballer Emil Huseynov was also drinking there with his friends. A dispute broke out between the two groups during the night, leading to a mass brawl. Chichakyan stabbed Huseynov several times in the chest, with the wounds proving fatal.


Chichakyan’s brother, Andranik Chichakyan, was hospitalised in serious condition after the altercation. His friends said he had suffered a fractured frontal bone during the fight. In 2017, Andranik was put on trial on charges of robbery and causing grievous bodily harm. Two years later, he was again convicted of robbery and sentenced to three years in a penal colony.


Chichakyan himself denied guilt in the murder of the Azerbaijani footballer.


Midfielder Emil Huseynov was a relatively well-known footballer in Azerbaijan. He played for Neftchi, Kapaz and Absheron before ending his career in 2011 and moving to Yekaterinburg to help a relative with a business.


By Jeyhun Aghazada