Journalist, Lawyer, Activist: A Short Life In Russia

Image by giladr via Flickr

The most dangerous careers in Russia are Journalist, Lawyer, and Activist. Feared for the power of the pen, and the power to persuade and expose, Natalia Estemirova a Russian journalist and activist who managed the Chechen division of ‘Memorial’ a Russian human-rights group was kidnapped at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning as she left her home.

Her body was found several hours later in a forested area of the city of Nazran in Ingushetia. She had been shot at least twice in the head and chest.

Estemirova indicated that she was about to expose the criminal acts of the Chechen security services which included kidnapping, torture, murder and the deliberate arson of private homes.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed "outrage" at the murder, and ordered an investigation, the common practice whenever an activist is murdered in Russia.

Medvedev’s “outrage” is the standard response from the Russian government and, thereafter, typically results in silence or a total black-out regarding information about the murder. Eventually, the incident is largely forgotten and the case buried away in a file.

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