HE WAS A “SERB” FOR ONLY FIVE DAYS: The Government of Serbia revoked the citizenship of Ramzan Kadyrov’s nephew, he became a “security threat”!

The Government of Serbia has revoked the Serbian citizenship of Yakub Salmanovich Zakriyev, the nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who had been a Serbian citizen for only five days.

Invoking the Law on General Administrative Procedure and the Law on the Government, Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut today signed a decision revoking the Serbian citizenship of Yakub Zakriyev (36), as published in the Official Gazette.

Zakriyev, according to media reports, is the nephew of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and close ally of Vladimir Putin. When citizenship was granted to him, the Government cited Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Law on Citizenship, which states that “a foreigner whose admission to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia would represent an interest for the Republic of Serbia may also be admitted to citizenship.”

Five days later, and less than 24 hours after the media published this news, the Government changed its mind and withdrew the citizenship. Thus, in five days, Kadyrov’s nephew went from being a foreigner of interest for Serbia to a foreigner who could be a “danger to national security.”

Namely, Article 184 of the Law on General Administrative Procedure in Paragraph 1 and Point 1, which the Government cited in the second decision, states: “the second-instance body or the supervisory body may, by decision at the request of a party or ex officio, revoke a decision in whole or in part if it has become enforceable, and the revocation is necessary to eliminate a serious and immediate danger to the life and health of people, public safety, public peace and public order, or to eliminate a disturbance in the economy, if the purpose of the revocation cannot be successfully achieved by other means that interfere less with acquired rights.”

Who is Yakub Zakriyev

Yakub Zakriyev is the son of Kadyrov’s older sister, Zulay. In 2018, when he was 27 years old, he was appointed mayor of Grozny.

In February 2020, he became the chief of staff of the regional leader and the government, only to be appointed to the position of deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture of Chechnya in November of the same year.

In September last year, Kadyrov signed a decree awarding Chechen officials medals on the occasion of the “centenary of the founding of the Chechen Republic.”

At least 12 of Kadyrov’s relatives, who hold various positions in the region, received this decoration.

Zakriyev’s close associate, Ruslan Alisultanov, also previously received Serbian citizenship, according to reports by KRIK. Alisultanov became a Serbian citizen on March 14, 2024, following a decision signed by Ana Brnabić.

He was the deputy minister of agriculture of Chechnya and deputy mayor of Grozny when Kadyrov’s nephew held those positions.

“Now, through his company ‘Health & Nutrition’ (formerly ‘Danone Russia’), he owns assets previously vacated by the French company Danone… Members of Ruslan Alisultanov’s family – his two daughters and two sons – also received Serbian citizenship,” KRIK reported.