Word: kadyrov
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...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...
...While human-rights activists in Russia have been pointing the finger at Kadyrov - "I know, I am sure of it, who is guilty for the murder of Natalya ... His name is Ramzan Kadyrov," said Orlov, Memorial's chairman, in a statement on the organization's website - the Interfax news agency reports that hours after the murder, Kadyrov released a statement calling those who carried out the killing "monstrous" and saying that they "deserve no support and must be punished as the cruelest of criminals...
...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 called into question, and the chance for justice in the Caucasus looks increasingly slim...
...Kadyrov already controls his own private army and imposes some of his own laws and taxes. Now Kadyrov is also expected to get his longstanding wish of international status for Grozny's airport, and therefore a full-scale customs operation. This will not only attract investment, but also, experts say, allow Kadyrov to export and import capital and travel as he pleases, giving him more independence from Moscow. "Ramzan [Kadyrov] knows he can make a lot of money with Chechnya as part of Russia," says Malashenko. "But he wants it to be special, like a foreign country within Russia...