Russia: Human Rights in danger, defenders at risk

January 2010 - The kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova on July 15, 2009, in Chechnya provoked a strong and legitimate reaction from the international community, including top-level government officials of the European Union and the United States. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev also reacted immediately to the murder, recognizing that Estemirova’s murder was connected to her work at the leading Russian human rights organization Memorial and promising an investigation. Six months later, Estemirova’s killers are still unknown.