Russia: From Bad to Worse

Need to support civil society - representatives abandoned to their fate by authorities in Russian Caucasus.

Tribute to Chechen human rights activist Natalia Estemirova

(GROZNY. Chechnya RFP) - Reporters Without Borders is shocked and angered to learn that the bodies of Zarema Sadulayeva (photo, Ingushetia.org), the head of an NGO that tried to dissuade young people from joining separatist armed groups, and her husband, Alek Djabrailov, were found with gunshot wounds in the boot of a car in Chechnya today following their abduction in the Chechen capital yesterday.

Journalist Roza Malsagova

At the same time, journalist Malik Akhmedilov of the local Avar-language weeklky Khakikat was found shot dead today in the neighbouring region of Dagestan, while journalist Roza Malsagova (shown at left) had to stand down last week as the editor of the leading independent news website in Ingushetia, the third of Russia’s three Caucasian republics, because of death threats to her and her children by militants calling themselves “mujahideen”.

“There is an urgent need for France, the Europe Union and the rest of the international community to take stock of the drama being played out in the Russian Caucasus and to actively demonstrate their support for its civil society representatives, who have been abandoned by the authorities and are facing complete impunity for crimes of violence against them,” Reporters Without Borders said.

“Meanwhile, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s comments to radio Svoboda on 8 August are utterly intolerable and constitute an indirect threat to all human rights activists,” Reporters Without Borders continued, referring to Kadyrov’s description of Chechen human rights activist Natalia Estemirova , who was murdered in mid-July, as a “woman without honour, dignity or conscience.”

Ingushetia.org owner, Magomed Yevloyev

“This means that these men and women, who are invaluable sources of information about the real situation in the Caucasus, must now be regarded as marked out for future violence,” the press freedom organisation said.

Reporters Without Borders added: “It is outrageous that the Kremlin has not reacted to these murders, coming within less than a month of Estemirova’s murder, by summoning Kadyrov to give an explanation and ordering him to ensure that the killings stop. After all, according to the Chechen president, Chechnya is the safest of all of Russia’s republics.”

Sadulayeva and her husband were kidnapped at 2:00 p.m. yesterday from Let’s Save the Generation, her NGO in the centre of the Chechen capital of Grozny.

Their bodies were found today in their car in the Grozny suburb of Chernorechye. Estemirova, who worked for the Russian NGO Memorial, was kidnapped while on her way to its Grozny office on 15 July. Her body was found a few hours later in neighbouring Ingushetia.

One of the few sources of information about the growing violence and human rights abuses in Ingushetia is the news website Ingushetia.org, whose owner, Magomed Yevloyev, was shot dead while in police custody minutes after being arrested on his return to Ingushetia on 31 August 2008.

Malsagova had been its editor until last week, but she resigned after being repeatedly threatened by rebel groups that accused her of working for the government.

Russia is ranked 141st out of 173 countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Source: Reporters sans frontières/