The taxi driver who mowed down pedestrians including World Cup fans near Moscow’s Red Square was a ‘terrorist’, a prominent Russian politician has claimed.
Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu, 28, from Kyrgyzstan, says he was driving while exhausted and ‘passed out’ at the moment when a video shows his yellow taxi lurching to the right, mounting a pavement and ploughing into a crowd of people.
Footage appeared to show the driver trying to flee from the scene before being apprehended.
Police and the FSB security service are investigating and for now are treating it as a road traffic incident.
But opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman says he ‘believes it was a terrorist attack’ and that the crash – which injured two Mexicans, two Russians, a Ukrainian and two Azerbaijani citizens – was ‘absolutely deliberate’.
Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu, 28, from Kyrgyzstan, claims he was driving while exhausted and ‘passed out’ at the moment when a video shows his yellow taxi lurching to the right, mounting a pavement and ploughing into a throng of people. Footage appeared to show the driver trying to flee from the scene before being apprehended
![A prominent Russian politician has claimed the taxi driver who mowed down pedestrians including World Cup fans yards from Moscow's Red Square was a 'terrorist'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4FCC6800000578-5855613-image-a-1_1529308004848.jpg)
A prominent Russian politician has claimed the taxi driver who mowed down pedestrians including World Cup fans yards from Moscow’s Red Square was a ‘terrorist’
![Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman says he 'believes it was a terrorist attack' and that the crash involving Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu (pictured) was 'absolutely deliberate'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4FCC8F00000578-5855613-image-m-8_1529308075104.jpg)
![Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D5C22A300000578-5855613-image-a-9_1529308086372.jpg)
Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman (right) says he ‘believes it was a terrorist attack’ and that the crash involving Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu (left) was ‘absolutely deliberate’
His claim comes as amid suggestions Russian authorities and tightly controlled state media are covering up ‘bad news’ during the football tournament.
The highly trained ‘no rules’ fighter then sprinted from the scene before being detained by police.
Roizman declared: ‘I watched carefully and saw that he directed his car to the crowd absolutely deliberately. I believe it is a terrorist attack.’
Populist mayor of Russia’s fourth city Yekaterinburg until he resigned last month, Roizman is seen as a future presidential candidate. He insisted the cabbie was lying.
‘You realise that he didn’t fall asleep, that it wasn’t about tiredness when you see the video of him reaching close to the boot of a car ahead of him.
‘He slows down, then abruptly turns his steering wheel to the right while speeding up, gets on a pavement, and slows down so that he doesn’t hit a wall.
![The bumper of the taxi lies in the road alongside a traffic sign which the vehicle hit, bringing it to a stop](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4F3A4B00000578-5855613-The_bumper_of_the_taxi_lies_in_the_road_alongside_a_traffic_sign-a-10_1529308379787.jpg)
The bumper of the taxi lies in the road alongside a traffic sign which the vehicle hit, bringing it to a stop
![The badly damaged yellow taxi is taken away by a recovery truck in central Moscow after the shocking crash](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4F53A500000578-5855613-The_badly_damaged_yellow_taxi_is_taken_away_by_a_recovery_truck_-a-12_1529308381577.jpg)
The badly damaged yellow taxi is taken away by a recovery truck in central Moscow after the shocking crash
‘In other words he absolutely deliberately aims at a crowd of people. Now, you can give it any name, but don’t say he got tired or he fell asleep.
‘His actions that led to a drive into a crowd of people were totally conscious.’
Police in Kyrgyzstan have carried out checks on the married driver’s family in the city of Jalal-Abad at the request of the Russian authorities, it emerged today.
His parents insisted he was ‘not in touch with any questionable or extremist organisations’, it was reported.
A report from the ex-Soviet state said: ‘According to preliminary data, during a search of the taxi driver’s place of residence, no prohibited materials were found.’
In Russia there have been claims that during the World Cup a special order has gone to law enforcement agencies not to reveal ‘bad news’.
‘Routine work is going on but we are posting only positive news due to a special order,’ said a spokesman for one force.
The cabbie was seen weeping in videos of his interrogation by police after the Friday incident close to Red Square.
![Uulu is pictured with his wife Aida Zholdozh Kyzy, 29, and their daughter, who is thought to be four years old](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D546FAD00000578-5855613-Family_man_Uulu_with_his_wife_Aida_Zholdozh_Kyzy_29_and_their_da-a-16_1529308391697.jpg)
Uulu is pictured with his wife Aida Zholdozh Kyzy, 29, and their daughter, who is thought to be four years old
![Taxi driver Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu, 28, with his wife](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D546FC000000578-5855613-Taxi_driver_Chyngyz_Anarbek_Uulu_28_with_his_wife-a-17_1529308393856.jpg)
![Taxi driver Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu, 28, after winning a bronze award in a fighting contest](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D546F7800000578-5855613-Taxi_driver_Chyngyz_Anarbek_Uulu_28_after_winning_a_bronze_award-a-19_1529308393948.jpg)
Uulu with his wife (left) and after winning a bronze award in a fighting contest (right)
![Uulu (second from left) alongside a team of Pankration fighters. The sport, originating in Ancient Greece, is a form of boxing and wrestling](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D546F8700000578-5855613-Mr_Uulu_second_from_left_alongside_a_team_of_Pankration_fighters-a-21_1529308395660.jpg)
Uulu (second from left) alongside a team of Pankration fighters. The sport, originating in Ancient Greece, is a form of boxing and wrestling
He denied initial claims that he was drunk, saying he never touches alcohol.
In fact, he is a world class bronze medal winner in a no rules form of fighting.
His postings on a Russian social media platform show he is a martial arts fanatic who has registered ‘likes’ of postings about the army in his homeland Kyrgyzstan.
But Anarbek Uulu – who last year won a bronze medal at the world Pankration championships in the Russian city of Sochi – also posted pictures of soldiers prostrating themselves at Muslim prayers.
And he has previously reposted pictures of World Cup star Lionel Messi and his family which he ‘liked’.
Pankration is a form of ‘no rules’ boxing and wrestling originating in ancient Greece.
There were no overtly extremist religious messages on his social media.
After mowing down pedestrians including Mexican fans – he said: ‘I wanted to stop, I wanted to let one man pass.
‘I wanted to stop, it was just one second and I pressed the accelerator instead.
![Two ambulances and at least three police patrol cars parked up at the scene of the horrific incident during the World Cup](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4F348A00000578-5855613-Two_ambulances_and_at_least_three_police_patrol_cars_parked_up_a-a-24_1529308400118.jpg)
Two ambulances and at least three police patrol cars parked up at the scene of the horrific incident during the World Cup
![Uulu's driving licence, which was release](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/18/08/4D4F38FE00000578-5855613-Uulu_s_driving_licence_which_was_release-a-27_1529308402008.jpg)
Uulu’s driving licence, which was released by Moscow traffic authority following the smash about 200 meters from Red Square
‘And I thought I was pushing the brakes, I don’t know, and I passed out….
‘And then I saw people being pushed… and then I ran away.’
He claimed he sprinted from the scene because he was scared he would be killed by angry Mexican fans who chased him along with Russian pedestrians.
‘I was afraid, they would have killed me, so many people there,’ he said.
His wife is named as Aida Zholdozh Kyzy, 29. They live together in Moscow.
The couple have two children who are raised by relatives in Kyrgyzstan.
Ahead of the World Cup, the FSB warned that jihadist terrorists posed the biggest threat to the tournament.
One online comment read: ‘They took a decision to block out bad news during the World Cup. That’s why we do not hear more.’
A comment read: ‘What an animal, he deliberately aimed at people!’
A response read: ‘Exactly, but the authorities are scared of word ‘terrorist attack’, so they make up all sorts of rubbish.’