15:58, 4 November 2026

Abukhba has become a suspect in a new case of assault on a foreigner.

Edgar Abukhba, arrested in Abkhazia for the murder of Russian tourist Amina Bikbova, is suspected of attempting to rape a citizen of Belarus.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 27, it became known that resident of Abkhazia Edgar Abukhba was detained on suspicion of murdering 26-year-old tourist Amina Bikbova from the Orenburg region, who had not been in contact with her relatives for three days. According to the investigation, Abukhba confessed to killing the girl. On September 29, the Gagra court arrested Abukhba.

According to the investigation, on September 23 around midnight, Edgar Abukhba, while at a house on Armenian Street in the village of Psakhara in the Gagra district, killed Amina Bikbova during the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In the presence of witnesses, Abukhba stated that he was alone with the girl in rented accommodation and during an argument, he strangled her. On the morning of September 24, the man borrowed a car from an acquaintance, loaded Bikbova's body, and took it to the area of the Bzyb Gorge, where he planned to drown it, but failed and left the body wrapped in a blanket in the bushes, discarding the tourist's belongings. He was detained on September 27, and on October 2, the suspect was charged with intentional murder. On October 7, it became known that the criminal case was transferred from the district prosecutor's office to the investigative department of the General Prosecutor's Office of Abkhazia.

Another criminal case has been initiated against Edgar Abukhba - for the attempted rape of a citizen of Belarus, TASS reports today, citing the press service of the General Prosecutor's Office of Abkhazia.

The case was initiated by the General Prosecutor's Office on November 3, and it is being investigated under part 3 of article 29 – point "b" of part 2 of article 126 of the Criminal Code of Abkhazia, according to a publication posted today on the prosecutor's website.

"According to preliminary investigation data, on September 18, 2025, Abukhba E.G., being on the seashore opposite the 'Europe' hotel located in the city of Gagra, acting intentionally with the aim of committing the rape of citizen Petrishche Y.I., threatened her with murder, used physical violence, causing her bodily harm, but was unable to carry out his criminal intent due to circumstances beyond his control, as Petrishche Y.I. began to call for help and, taking advantage of Abukhba E.G.'s confusion, escaped," the message cites the investigation's version.

The agency noted that this is the same Edgar Abukhba who was arrested for the murder of Russian citizen Bikbova. "The criminal cases [...] will be combined into one proceeding," the publication states.

It should be noted that the court previously recognized that in July 2019, Abukhba had already committed a crime against a Russian tourist: he took her to an abandoned building in Sukhum, where he raped and beat her, and then stole her belongings. In 2021, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, and in February 2024, he was released. After Abukhba's release, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned about the risks of travel to Abkhazia.

The court in the case of the murder of Amina Bikbova will not consider Edgar Abukhba as a repeat offender, since he was detained for the previous crime while still a minor, the lawyer explained.

Incidents involving tourists regularly occur in Abkhazia. For example, on August 2 in Sukhum, a resident of Cherkessk who came for vacation was attacked and hospitalized with a concussion and other injuries.

There are also known cases of abductions of foreign citizens in Abkhazia. Details about this were collected by "Caucasian Knot" in the reference "Main about the abductions of foreign citizens in Abkhazia".

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/428060