Novaya Gazeta, Kavkazsky Uzel
July 15, 2009, in between Grozny and Gazi-Yurt , Russia
Four men forced Estemirova, 50, into a white Lada sedan in Grozny, capital of Chechnya, as she was leaving her apartment for work, Reuters reported. Witnesses said Estemirova shouted that she was being kidnapped as the car sped from the scene, according to press reports. Later the same day, her body was found in the neighboring region of Ingushetia, near the village of Gazi-Yurt, according to international news reports. She was shot in the head and the chest; no belongings were reported missing.
Estemirova was a frequent contributor to the independent Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the Caucasus news Web site Kavkazsky Uzel. She was also an advocate for the Moscow-based human rights group Memorial and a consultant for the New York-based international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Estemirova’s colleagues told CPJ that her relentless reporting on human rights violations committed by federal and regional authorities in Chechnya put her at odds with regional officials. Oleg Orlov, head of Memorial, told the Russian service of the U.S.-government backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that he believed Chechen authorities were behind the murder of his colleague.
"Natalya was the only remaining source of credible information on Chechnya for rights groups and journalists," said Tanya Lokshina, HRW's Russia researcher. Estemirova had recently contributed to an HRW report on the punitive burning of houses by regional authorities in Chechnya.
Novaya Gazeta reporter Elena Milashina told CPJ that "Natasha never reported on stories she did not check. She personally traveled inside Chechnya to talk to people, and people trusted her." Estemirova reported on extrajudicial killings, abductions, and punitive arsons for Novaya Gazeta. After a series of threats from Chechen authorities, she wrote under a pseudonym, Milashina said.
President Dmitry Medvedev condemned the murder in a statement and ordered Russia's Investigative Committee to conduct a thorough probe. Speaking to journalists at the Russian-German Public Forum in Munich, Germany, on July 16, President Medvedev assured journalists that Estemirova’s murder would be solved. “What’s most important is to find the criminals responsible and to sentence them to the punishment they deserve. This is important. It is important to do this to honor the people who died while defending our legal system, defending regular people, and to educate an entire new generation of citizens,” Medvedev said.
Medium: Print
Job: Print Reporter
Beats Covered: Human Rights
Gender: Female
Local or Foreign: Local
Freelance: Yes
Type of Death: Murder
Suspected Source of Fire: Government Officials
Impunity: Yes
Taken Captive: Yes
Threatened: Yes
