Russian human rights activist killed in Chechnya

October 6th, 2009 Chechnya's president wins defamation lawsuitMOSCOW — Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday won a defamation lawsuit against a rights activist who blamed him for the killing of a colleague whose murder sparked international outrage. Moscow's Tverskoi district court ordered Memorial rights group chairman Oleg Orlov to retract his statement that Kadyrov was responsible for Natalya Estemirova's death.

September 25th, 2009 Russian activist in court over Chechen lawsuitMOSCOW — A Russian human rights activist on trial over a defamation claim filed by Chechnya's strongman president said Friday he stands by his statements blaming the Kremlin-backed provincial leader for a fellow activist's slaying in July. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov sued Memorial rights group chairman Oleg Orlov after Orlov said Kadyrov was responsible for the killing of activist Natalya Estemirova.

September 10th, 2009 European envoy asks Russia about NGO killingMOSCOW — The Council of Europe's commissioner on human rights says Russia must prosecute the killers of a human rights activist in Chechnya this year, if it is to break a cycle of violence in the region. Thomas Hammarberg said Thursday that bringing the killers of Natalya Estemirova to justice will help dissipate the atmosphere of impunity that pervades Russia's violent southern fringe.

August 24th, 2009 Putin visits Chechnya in show of supportMOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin showed support for Chechnya's controversial leader Monday by praising his assassinated father — the first Kremlin-backed Chechen president — and laying flowers at his grave. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is accused by critics of human rights abuses, has been facing an upsurge of regional violence that has raised questions about Russian government policy in Chechnya and the surrounding provinces of the North Caucasus.

August 11th, 2009 Memorial: kidnapped Chechen activist found deadMOSCOW — The head of a Chechen aid group and her husband have been found shot dead in the trunk of their car a day after being kidnapped, police and an official of the Russian human rights group Memorial said Tuesday. Memorial's Alexander Cherkasov told The Associated Press that the bodies of Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband were found in a suburb of the Chechen capital, Grozny.

August 9th, 2009 Chechen leader: Slain activist 'had no conscience'MOSCOW —The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya said in a radio interview that a human rights activist whose bullet-ridden body was found in a neighboring province last month "never had any honor, dignity or conscience." Natalya Estemirova had been a staunch critic of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and led the Chechen branch of Memorial human rights group. Her body was found July 15 on a roadside in Ingushetia hours after she was kidnapped in the Chechen capital.

July 23rd, 2009 Vigil held for slain Russian activistMOSCOW — Several dozen people attended a somber vigil in Moscow on Thursday for slain human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who was abducted last week outside her home in Chechnya and found dead later the same day. Participants at the vigil — held eight days after her death, in accordance with a Russian Orthodox tradition — vowed not to forget Estemirova or forgive her killers.

July 22nd, 2009 Russian activist dead, colleague suspects murderMOSCOW — A Russian human rights activist has been found dead in a sand pit weeks after he went missing, according to police and a colleague who said Wednesday that he suspects the prisoners' rights advocate was murdered. The news of Andrei Kulagin's death came a week after the abduction and killing of Natalya Estemirova, a well-respected human rights activist and critic of the Kremlin-backed leader of Russia's war-scarred Chechnya region.

July 18th, 2009 Report: Rights group to suspend Chechnya workMOSCOW — The respected Russian human rights group Memorial is stopping work at its office in the republic of Chechnya after the kidnapping and killing of one of its most daring activists, a Russian radio station quoted an official of the group as saying Saturday. Natalya Estemirova, who had investigated executions, kidnappings and other abuses, was forced into a car outside her residence in the Chechen capital on Wednesday, witnesses say.

July 16th, 2009 Some recent high-profile slayings of activists, reporters and lawyers who have challenged Russian authorities in recent years. There have been no convictions in any of the following killings.

July 16th, 2009 Comments on slaying of Russian activist Estemirova International reaction to the kidnapping and murder of Russian human rights activist Natalya Estemirova in the Caucasus. Estemirova, 50, was a leading member of the Chechen branch of the Russian human rights group Memorial.

July 15th, 2009 Reports: Russian activist found dead in ChechnyaMOSCOW — Russian news agencies are reporting that a prominent rights activist has been found dead, hours after being kidnapped in Chechnya. ITAR-Tass and Interfax quote unidentified police officials as saying that Natalya Estemirova's body was found in Ingushetia, a region that borders Chechnya to the west.

July 15th, 2009 Russian activist abducted in Chechnya found deadMOSCOW — A prominent Russian activist who investigated abductions, killings and other rights abuses in Chechnya was found killed Wednesday, hours after being kidnapped in the Chechen capital, police officials and her organization said. Natalya Estemirova's body was found in Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya to the west, Oleg Orlov, the chairman of Memorial, her rights group, told The Associated Press.

July 15th, 2009 Russian group says activist abducted in ChechnyaMOSCOW — A prominent Russian human rights group says its leading activist in Chechnya has been kidnapped. Memorial chairman Oleg Orlov says that four men forced Natalya Estemirova into a car in the Chechen capital, Grozny, early Wednesday.

April 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia has ended its decade-long counter-terrorism operations against separatist rebels in Chechnya, officials said Thursday. Some 20,000 Russian troops deployed in Chechnya will be withdrawn.