Russian human rights defender killed

Human rights organisations, including Aim for human rights, are shocked to hear that yet another prominent human rights activist from the Russian Republic has been murdered. Yesterday morning, Natalia Estemirova (50) was kidnapped in front of her house in the Chechnian capital Grozny. Several hours later, her body was discovered, two bullet holes in her head.

Estemirova worked for the organisation Memorial in the Russian Republic of Chechnya, where she researched killings, enforced disappearances and other prevalent human rights violations. People involved with her work claim that because of these activities she was threatened for some time before she was kidnapped.  

Estemirova had been collecting evidence of human rights violations committed in Chechnya since the beginning of the second Chechnyan war in 1999. She collaborated with journalist Anna Politkovskaja, who was killed in Moskow in 2006, and with human rights lawyer Stanislav Markjelov, who was killed last January. In 2007 Estemirova had won the Anna Politkovskaja-award, for her courageaus efforts to improve the human rights in war and conflict situations. In 2004 she was nominated for the Sacharov award, the human rights prize of the European Parliament. 

Aim for human rights‘ partner organisations in Russia and Chechnya cooperated closely with Estemirova to combat the many disappearances. We wish them strength to deal with this huge loss and the courage to continue their dangerous work.  

Aim for human rights calls upon the Russian government to start thorough investigations on this murder. The killing of Natalja Estemirova cannot be viewed separately from the violations that she fought. Aim for human rights therefore repeats that all disappearances should be investigated, all perpetrators should be brought to justice and all victims have a right to reparations.  

Disappearances in Chechnya
It is estimated that there are between 3000 and 5000 cases of enforced disappearances in Chechnya. In the past years there have also been many cases reported in Ingushetia. The Human Rights Court in Strasbourg has repeatedly condemned the Russian Federation for violating human rights in Chechnya, because of the disappearances.

Russia hardly strives to improve legal protection against this type of violations. The very negative attitude of the Russian government during discussions of the new UN Convention for the protection of all persons against enforced disappearances bears witness to this. It is to be expected that Russia will not sign the Convention any time soon.

Political developments in the Russian Federation and the power that Kadyrov has claimed in the Chechnyan Republic provide little hope for a thorough course of action against enforced disappearances. The Kadyrov regime only focuses on persons that disappeared by Federal troops, though many other disappearances are linked to the Kadyrov regime itself (the ‘Kadyrovski’), when the conflict began to develop into a civil war.

Aim for human rights cooperates with the organisaition of Estemirova, Memorial, by exchanging knowledge and information about disappearances and ways to combat this violation.