Russian Rights Activist Natalya Estemirova Murdered

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Source: The Telegraph

A Russian campaigner on human rights was abducted and murdered on Wednesday, hours after her organisation backed calls for Vladimir Putin to face trial over atrocities in Chechnya.

Natalya Estemirova, who won numerous international awards for her work, was bundled into a car as she left her home in Grozny, the Chechen capital. Her body was later found by the side of a road in the neighbouring province of Ingushetia. She had been shot twice in the head at close range.

Mrs Estemirova, a single mother in her early 40s, was the seventh opponent of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed Chechen president, to have been murdered in the past 10 months.

Her colleagues at Memorial, which is widely regarded as Russia's most respected human rights organisation, alleged that Mr Kadyrov was responsible for the killing.

"Ramzan Kadyrov is responsible, not only because he leads Chechnya," alleged Oleg Orlov, Memorial's director. "He threatened Natalya, told her that her hands would be covered in blood and that he destroys bad people.

"We didn't say this before because we were scared for her safety." Mr Kadyrov's spokesman said he was unaware of the activist's disappearance.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, was said to have been "indignant" over the killing but there was no response from Mr Putin, the prime minister, who appointed Mr Kadyrov to restore order in the troubled republic. Mr Putin was criticised in 2006 after he remained silent for three days following the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist who campaigned on injustices in Chechnya.

more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/5837306/Russian-rights-activist-Natalya-Estemirova-murdered.html