After the murder of a human rights activist in the North Caucasus, the authorities’ investigations left many questions. Russia has now been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for this.
Twelve years after the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova in the North Caucasus, the European Court of Human Rights has convicted Russia of inadequate investigations.
The case had not been investigated thoroughly enough, said the court in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The judges also ordered compensation of 20,000 euros to be paid to the victim’s sister.
According to the court, there is no evidence of state involvement in the murder of the journalist and employee of the human rights organization Memorial. However, there are doubts about the quality of the investigators’ analysis of evidence and their conclusions, according to the court. The Russian government also refused to forward a large part of the investigation files.
Estemirova was found shot dead in July 2009 in the Russian conflict region of the North Caucasus. She had repeatedly incurred the ire of those in power in the region who were loyal to Moscow with critical reports of the disappearance of civilians in Chechnya. Investigators then blamed an Islamist for the act, but human rights activists doubt it.
The European Court of Human Rights is part of the Council of Europe. The bodies that are independent of the European Union work together to protect human rights in the 47 member states. Russia is also a member of the Council of Europe and is therefore bound by the Convention on Human Rights and the judgments of the Court of Justice. The Council of Europe, however, has comparatively little power to implement the judgments of its court.
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