Russian human rights watchdog Memorial has accused Chechnya's Moscow-backed President Ramzam Kadyrov of being responsible for the death of a leading human rights activist investigating abuses in the former Soviet republic. A leading Russian human rights group has accused Chechnya's strongman president of being responsible for the killing of a prominent human rights activist. Memorial's Natalia Estemirova was abducted in Chechnya's capital Grozny on Wednesday. Her bullet-riddled body was found in neighbouring Ingushetia hours later. Estemirova had been gathering evidence of an alleged campaign of house burnings as collective punishment by government-backed Chechen militias.
A leading Russian human rights group has accused Chechnya's strongman president of being responsible for the killing of a prominent human rights activist.
Memorial's Natalia Estemirova was abducted in Chechnya's capital Grozny on Wednesday. Her bullet-riddled body was found in neighbouring Ingushetia hours later.
Estemirova had been gathering evidence of an alleged campaign of house burnings as collective punishment by government-backed Chechen militias.
Some snippets:
There is currently a power struggle going on in Ingushetia triggered by the attempted murder of the republic's president last month and the murders of several of the republic's officials. (Actually, the murders may be part of the power struggle.) Many people are agitating for the return of the previous president, which has been blocked by UR and Kadyrov. Simultaneously, there is a power struggle going on between forces in Chechnya and forces in Ingushetia. The Chechen government wants to reunite with Ingushetia. Presumably, given the demographics of the region, this would make Chechens (specifically, Kadyrov) the dominant force in the reconstituted republic. The Ingush do not want to reunite, for obvious reasons. This amid accusations that people are attempting to set the vainnakh against each other. This is the background against which the murder takes place. A murder which, oddly, involved a suspicious Chechnya-Ingushetia border crossing.
Simultaneously, there is a power struggle going on between forces in Chechnya and forces in Ingushetia. The Chechen government wants to reunite with Ingushetia. Presumably, given the demographics of the region, this would make Chechens (specifically, Kadyrov) the dominant force in the reconstituted republic. The Ingush do not want to reunite, for obvious reasons. This amid accusations that people are attempting to set the vainnakh against each other.
This is the background against which the murder takes place. A murder which, oddly, involved a suspicious Chechnya-Ingushetia border crossing.
The assumption is that, because Kadyrov didn't want her snooping around, he must have decided to murder her rather than let her escape with whatever evidence of human rights abuses she found or might have found. But what could be worse PR than having a Memorial activist murdered in your backyard? This has attracted far more negative press coverage that any `new' revelations about the already well publicized detention and interrogation camps in Chechnya. In lieu of any real evidence, I'm inclined to think that "they kill whomever speaks the truth" remains a bit of an exaggeration, even in an age when государственны&# 1081; террор is knocking on the door..
In lieu of any real evidence, I'm inclined to think that "they kill whomever speaks the truth" remains a bit of an exaggeration, even in an age when государственны&# 1081; террор is knocking on the door..
I don't buy into the Kadyrov as culprit for Estemirova for many of the reasons Chris has stated. Key among them is Russia's weak central government, and if you follow what is going on in Chechnya-Ingushetia, there are all sorts of nefarious individuals who would have an interest in taking out a human rights activist. I'm not saying that I agree with the provocation theory (that is just to make Kadyrov look bad), but at the same time, I wouldn't discount the murder being part of a larger power struggle. Kadyrov is merely a symptom of a larger disease in the region.
Even though all signs point to Kadyrov, I can't be sure that I buy the theory that it was his direct order. He was running a healthy little theifdom with few problems from Moscow, and now I am sure he isn't too happy with some new pressures that are coming. It seems like the stories about Putin getting edged out of influence may have some merit. There is nobody of significance running policy in the Caucasus right now, and in this vacuum, parties likely related to Kadyrov took advantage.
It seems like the stories about Putin getting edged out of influence may have some merit. There is nobody of significance running policy in the Caucasus right now, and in this vacuum, parties likely related to Kadyrov took advantage.
Without going into a "who's who" of the Russia-watcher-sphere, I think it's worth pointing out that these comments are from quite different political corners. "Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.
