Natalia Estemirova, Found Murdered!

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday July 15, 2009 23:01 by Mick Collins

Natalia Estemirova (50), has been found murdered in the North Caucasus, after having been abducted this morning (July 15th) shortly after leaving for work in the Chechen capital Grozny.

Natalia Estemirova, Found Murdered!

Natalia Estemirova (50) prominent Russian human rights campaigner, has been found murdered in the North Caucasus, after having been abducted this morning (July 15th) shortly after leaving for work in the Chechen capital Grozny. She was working for the the Russian Human Right’s Organisation 'Memorial' and had been working tirelessly to unveil systematic abuse in Chechnya.

Ms. Estemirova’s body was found this evening found in neighbouring Ingushetia and had received fatal gunshots to the head and chest.

Natalia Estemirova; Tireless Human Right's Campaigner

Natalia Estemirova had selflessly worked for several years aiding numerous families to uncover details about kidnapped relatives, concentrating on human rights violations perpetrated by Chechen government back militias. In recognition of this dedicated work she received several international awards, and including being the first recipient of the Anna Politkovskaya Award (2007), She too had championed the cause of the families of the disappeared in Chechnya before she was a0lso murdered in October 2006. Ms. Estemirova’s investigative work in uncovering the dark secrets of Chechnya’s past often found her in direct conflict with Chechen government, most notably the Kremlin-backed strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, whom human rights groups have accused of direct involvement in torturing kidnap victims.

A native of the southern Russian province of Saratov, Ms. Estemirova embarked on a career as a history teacher upon graduating from Grozny until1998. She then turned her attention to investigating human rights violations and became heavily involved in documenting such violations during the second Chechen War which started in 1999. She then took up post with Memorial in 2000 and focused her investigative work on the villages of Novye Atagy in March 2000 and Rigakha in April 2004.

Ms. Estemirova’s Received World Wide Recognition

Ms. Estemirova’s dedication in perilous circumstances brought her worldwide recognition, most notably when both her and Sergei Kovalyov, chairman of Memorial, were awarded the Robert Schuman Medal (Jan. 2005) by a group of MEPs in the European Parliament. During the awards ceremony, the MEPs said:

"A large part of the Chechen society sees Natalia as an emblematic moral figure in the non-violent Chechen resistance.....................Far from political passions, she is, above all, devoted to helping victims of violence."

Fearless And Dedicated!

Whilst visiting London to collect her Politkovskaya prize, Ms Estemirova was interviewed about her life and work by BBC World Service's Outlook programme. When asked if she ever felt her life was in danger due to the extenuating circumstances her dangerous work placed her under, Ms Estemirova replied;

"Sometimes I just can't even come to feeling that because I have such strong other feelings.........I try to be very exact about how I go about things and of course I do have worries about my family and people close to me but I still have to do my work.”

And with an air of defiance and resolution she concluded;

"Of course there are moments when I feel scared."