UN human rights chief urges “transparent and independent investigation of Estemirova killing”

16 July 2009


GENEVA – The UN High Commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, on Thursday urged the Russian authorities to conduct a “thorough, transparent and independent investigation into the kidnapping and shooting of Russian human rights activist Natalia Estemirova.”

Welcoming the announcement that a top-level investigation has been ordered by Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, the UN Human Rights chief urged the authorities “to do all they can to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted and brought to justice.”

Estemirova, a prominent human rights activist who had been investigating alleged human rights abuses in Chechnya for the prominent Russian NGO Memorial, was kidnapped on Wednesday near her home in the Chechen capital, Grozny. Her body was found later in the day in neighboring Ingushetia with bullet wounds to the head and chest.

“This case sadly underlines once again the need for governments to do much more to protect human rights defenders,” said Pillay, noting that the work of human rights defenders in Russia, in particular in the North Caucasus, is precarious. Estemirova’s death is the latest in a series of killings or attacks against human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers in the country.

Estemirova had worked with dedication for many years to promote human rights in the North Caucasus. She was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya Prize from the Nobel Women's Initiative and received several other awards, including from the Swedish and European parliaments.

In the past, Estemirova had worked with the activists Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in 2006, and Stanislav Markelov, who was murdered in January this year.