GROZNY – Thousands of protesters in Chechnya yesterday demanded Russian authorities find the killers of a human rights lawyer and a reporter who were shot dead in central Moscow.
Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who fought against the early release of a former Russian tank commander imprisoned for the murder of a young Chechen woman, was killed less than a kilometre from the Kremlin on Monday. Anastasia Baburova, a reporter for the Novaya Gazetanewspaper, who had walked down the road with Mr Markelov, was also shot in the head and died.
About 3,000 people came out onto the main square in Grozny, some holding banners saying “Why does the law not operate in Russia?” “Life costs nothing in our state. But we should not just accept it – we should fight for our rights,” said demonstrator Malika Israilova.
Mr Markelov (34) represented the family of 18-year-old Elza Kungayeva, whose murder in 2000 became a symbol of human rights abuses in war-ravaged Chechnya. – (Reuters)
