Word: estemirova
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...Chechnya, the government creates an atmosphere of fear and mistrust," Estemirova said in 2007, as she accepted HRW's Human Rights Defender Award. "Those who witness abuse keep silent, for if they speak, they can soon become a victim. Can you imagine living each day wondering who might turn you in to the government for saying the wrong thing...
...Indeed, Estemirova's determined efforts over the past decade to uncover and document extrajudicial killings, torture, disappearances and kidnappings in Chechnya had made her many enemies, including Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, the republic's Kremlin-backed President. She had also become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who as President presided over the Second Chechen War, which began in 1999 and ended in 2002. (See pictures of Putin...
...Estemirova's murder marks the second assassination of a Russian human-rights figure this year, after the shooting of lawyer Stanislav Markelov in January, and the seventh killing in 10 months of opponents of Kadyrov, including two in broad daylight in central Moscow. "It seems to be open season on anyone trying to highlight the appalling human-rights abuses in Chechnya," said Kenneth Roth, HRW's head, in a statement. "It's high time the Russian government acted to stop these killings and prosecute those responsible." (Read "Murder in Moscow: A Lawyer Gunned Down...
...Moscow, Russian President Dimitri Medvedev responded swiftly to news of Estemirova's murder, in sharp contrast to the three-day silence from then President Putin that followed the killing of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a friend and colleague of Estemirova's. Medvedev expressed "indignation" and said the government would "take all necessary measures" to solve the crime. (Read "Murder, Russian-Style: Political Assassination...
...many in the human-rights community doubt the will of the government to solve the murder of one so committed to unearthing crimes committed by the Kremlin. For Medvedev, Estemirova's killing represents a twofold problem. It brings into ever-increasing doubt the claims he made when elected last year that he would restore the rule of law in Russia, and it highlights the rising level of violence in the North Caucasus, where the Kremlin has backed Kadyrov in a mostly successful effort to quell fighting in Chechnya. Now the methods of Kadyrov, and those of the Kremlin, have been...