And this is the essence of these groups, they show they aren't human rights groups, they prove to the world they are just groups of activists with their own agenda. They become so coloured, that they lose objectivity completely. They just become a monotonic rant against their 'enemy'. who they will blame in the end, even for the weather. This takes nothing away from this ladies great work. However, to think she and the groups around her, are one and the same thing, is over simplifying things to the extreme. These groups uses people like her, then throw them away; when either they don't suit their purpose, or the utility of theri death outweighs the utility of their life. The truth is, no one knows who is behind this evil deed at the moment, but one truth is clear to see, and that is that these so called human rights groups, are nothing more than an army with a fixed Russophopic agenda, serving themselves and any advantaged accomplices. This is plain to see by their abandonment of basic legal principles and norms of presumed innocence, prior to legal due process finding guilt. The motives in this case for the 'obvious' actor are bizarre, there are many players in the US,UK,NATO,unsettled easten european counties and closer to home Chechen groups, whose aims seem better served by this poor ladies death. For them she was an outsider, a pawn, that they can play with without personal loss. The question is, was that her usefulness? a use she never knew. Its always the innocent, that are abused, the guilty are the ones coniving and manipulating the actors, to accomplish their goals.

Medvedev knows well that Kadyrov murdered the activist, in the same way that the former terrorist has killed other opponents in recent years. Kadyrov's claim that others have commited the murders to 'discredit' him is obviously nonsense.

I agree - you are absolutely right about this. Too many hotheads are inclined to 'jump the gun' in conclusions and ravings : thus creating more problems of a lethal nature in the process. It is a disease now. The best Security Intelligence understands that a strictly softly-softly stance is the only safe stance nowadays - there are too many tangles and the truth - when reached - is often not what we assumed it was - or were led to assume it was.

There is no free press in the "west"! Its not jumping the gun-it is on purpose to make Russia low and undemocratic.Any text about Russia is bad - from 1937 till today(same people plus usa but without uniforms and with pen in theirs hand attacking Russia on ANY SUBJECT)-you can see the POINT!

An appalling article that does a disservice to the memory of a fantastically brave woman There has been no ‘fair trial’ in any of the previous 17 murders of prominent journalists and human rights workers. If justice had visibly been done in those cases, then you might have a point. But since it hasn’t, then perhaps you should be asking why not? Can it be the police and the courts have been so incompetent in each case they were unable to catch the killers? Or perhaps the criminals were superhumanly ingenious? Or is it more likely the investigations were interfered with and the killers protected? In which case we should be asking, who has that kind of power? The argument these murders were committed by enemies of Russia who wish to discredit Kadyrov and the Kremlin is equally fatuous. You tell us they are “media savvy, they read the newspapers, they use the Internet...,” apparently you know their character and therefore who they are. Why don’t you tell us? Or don't you have the slightest idea? Instead you simply ascribe characteristics any reasonably connected person would have. Murdering an innocent woman would draw bad publicity in every case; it tells us nothing about the identity of the killers. Estemirova was a thorn in Kadyrov’s side, and given that the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ only a fool of a foe would have killed her. Yet we know the murderers are not fools, since they always manage to evade justice. In the absence of any evidence to support your theory Ockam’s razor applies, making the most likely conclusion that she was killed by someone who considered her an enemy. Finally, you seem to be blaming the human rights groups for bringing these murders upon themselves. I think you should be ashamed. These people risk their lives in an effort to expose the murder, torture, house burning, rape etc that take place in some parts of this land. They want a better, fairer Russia, while you, Mr Bridge, seem to be working hard to preserve the status quo.

Appalling tendentious piece that utterly disregards all the meticulous work accomplished by Memorial and other groups for years documenting disappearances and deaths and testimonies about the death squads of Kadyrov. Rather than attempting to try to harass and harry an honest and decent man like Oleg Orlov with specious libel suits, given that he has devoted his life to documenting human rights atrocities for years and can plead the "truth" defense (were it available to plead in the Russian justice system), the Kremlin should appoint a special prosecutor and investigate allegations about Kadyrov in Chechnya. That's what matters. As we've learned in the United States, you do not exonerate a leader from charges repeatedly being made from all quarters simply by setting up the media to bray in chorus with government propaganda. You investigate the charges where it counts, on site.