News

The Grozny office of the HRC "Memorial" has received a cable from Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, in which he condoles on the death of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Centre.

The decision of the leadership of the HRC "Memorial" to suspend the work of the Centre in Chechnya is ambiguously treated in the republic. Some people find it reasonable, while others express fear that suspension of the human rights organization will untie hands of power agents, who have recently sharply strengthened their punitive and repressive actions.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", which is leaving Chechnya, plans to finish all the cases started in the in republic. According to Oleg Orlov, the chairman, the lawyers of "Memorial" will finalize all the cases filed by them to the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) on behalf of residents of Chechnya.

The body of assassinated Natalia Estemirova was found in the area, where last year the fatally wounded Ingush oppositionist Magomed Evloev was detected, who had been detained on the previous day by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia at Magas Airport. In the opinion of a source in law enforcement bodies of Chechnya, this circumstance and a number of others evidence that the kidnapping and murder of the renowned human rights activist were parts of a carefully devised action.

An independent public commission is now set up in Russia for investigating the circumstances of the death of the well-known Chechen human rights defender, employee of the HRC "Memorial" Natalia Estemirova.

On July 20, the GUVD (City Interior Department) of Moscow accepted the application submitted by Andrei Krasnenkov, advocate of President of Chechnya, and requesting to open a criminal case against Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the HRC "Memorial".

On July 20, the Baku Appeal Court continued considering the appeal complaints lodged by bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade, who challenged the decisions of the first instance court about their arrest for 2 months on accusation of hooliganism.

Today, a judicial session took place in Dagestan on the claim of "Rossvyazkomnadzor" (Federal Agency for Supervising Communications) to close the independent newspaper "Chernovik" (Blueprint), where the paper has lodged a counterclaim against Igor Tkachov, Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Dagestan and the territorial department of "Rossvyazkomnadzor" for Dagestan. The judge has accepted the counterclaim.

The murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial" is another tragic example of a cold-blooded murder of a courageous human rights activist, runs a personal statement of Mary Robinson, President of the International Commission of Lawyers. According to Ms Robinson, Natalia Estemirova was one of the most courageous and inspiring human rights defenders she had ever met.

The leading western media, while making comments on Natalia Estemirova's murder, express their concern that this not the first crime against human rights activists and critics of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and his Kremlin patrons.

On July 17, advocates of the freedom of speech in Azerbaijan commemorated Elmar Guseinov, editor-in-chief of the popular Azerbaijani "Monitor" magazine, who was shot dead by hired gunmen on March 2, 2005.

On July 17, the Parliament of Georgia adopted three bills "On Assemblies and Manifestations", "On Police" and Code of Administrative Offences, which assume tougher regulations on holding manifestations and more severe punishments for beaching them.

Oleg Orlov, Chair of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", is ready to litigate with President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who is now preparing, via his advocate, his claims to the court and Moscow GUVD (City Interior Department) in the context of Mr Orlov's statements about Mr Kadyrov's responsibility for the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova.

In Chechnya, TV channels are quoting, in their news programmes, the authorities of the republic, who keep asserting that the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova was backed by certain forces willing to blacken the peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia and Ramzan Kadyrov personally.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" suspends its activity in Chechnya after the kidnapping and murder of its employee Natalia Estemirova.

Russian human rights activists promise to support Oleg Orlov, leader of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", in litigation against President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. This was stated by Liudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group. Mr Kadyrov also has a supporter - Ombudsman in Chechnya Nurdi Nukhazhiev.

In the evening on July 17, about 150 persons came to St Michel Square in Paris to commemorate the perished human rights activist Natalia Estemirova.

Employees of the Chechen branches of the HRC "Memorial" are gathering to a meeting aimed to discuss the expediency of their further work and presence in the Chechen Republic. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Lilia Yusupova, advocate and head of the Gudermes branch of the HRC "Memorial".

The Special Investigatory Service (SIS) of Armenia has opened a criminal case against the policemen who used the special means named "Cheryomukha-7" during dispersal of peaceful oppositional rally on March 1 last year in Yerevan. Journalists were informed about it by Sona Truzyan, press secretary of the State Office of Public Prosecutor of Armenia.

In the course of the farewell ceremony with the well-known human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, killed on July 15, two men in civil clothes, one of them with firearms on him, tried to stop the column that moved along the Putin Avenue in Grozny ahead of the catafalque with Estemirova's body.