The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus

ACPC Weekly News UPDATE
April 25- May 1, 2011

Markelov murder trial ends in convictions

On Thursday, April 28^th, in a highly publicized case, a Moscow jury convicted Evgeniya Khasis and Nikita Tikhnonov of murdering prominent human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasiya Baburova. Tikhonov was found guilty of slaying Markelov and bystander victim Baburova in January 2009 in Moscow as the lawyer and the journalist were returning from a press conference. His girlfriend, Khasis, was convicted of complicity. The two were members of radical right-wing group, Russian National Unity.

Lawyers and analysts agree that the main motive for slaying Markelov was his bold activist work against neo-fascists who have gained sway in Russia since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Markelov's involvement in the high-profile case of tank commander Yuri Budanov, convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering 18-year-old Chechen girl Elza Kungayeva, earned him foes across Russia, where anti-Caucasus sentiments run extremely high.

Markelov took uncompromised public stances against far-right extremism and racism and exposed human rights abuses in the North Caucasus. He also worked closely with slain Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova. The final sentence will be announced on May 5^th. Tikhonov could possibly face a life sentence, and Khasis up to 20 years in prison.

The Russian bloggers community, meanwhile, became abuzz with explicit threats to the hearing judge and jury as well as blatant racist remarks, Novaya Gazeta reported. Observers note that the Russian public opinion is becoming increasingly radicalized against natives of the North Caucasus, dark-skinned immigrants and other ethnic minorities in Russia. On April 23^rd, hundreds of people took to the streets in Moscow to protest government subsidies for the North Caucasus. Ethnic tensions culminated at the end of last year when thousands of people staged a massive rally in Moscow, chanting conspicuously racist slogans and performing Hitler salutes. While the Russian government exhibits unyielding determination in squelching bi-monthly pro-democracy protests, it continues to display disturbing leniency toward ultranationalists' demonstrations.

Related articles:

Russian Murder Trial Continues After Defendants' Suicide Attempts

RFE/RL 04/28/11

Russian nationalists convicted over Moscow killings

BBC 04/28/11

Markelov and Baburova murder trial: Jury finds Tikhonov and Khasis guilty

Novaya gazeta 04/29/11 (in Russian)

A rally against North Caucasus subsidies took place in Moscow

Lenta 04/23/11 (in Russian)

Kadyrov testifies in Orlov trial

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Thursday, April 28^th, testified by video conference in the trial of Oleg Orlov, a renowned human rights defender and head of Russia’s prominent human rights organization Memorial. Orlov faces charges of defamation for holding Kadyrov responsible for the gruesome murder of Memorial researcher and celebrated activist Natalya Estemirova in July 2009. If found guilty, Orlov, recipient of the European Parliament’s 2009 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, could face up to four years in prison.

Orlov later specified that he did not accuse the head of Chechnya of directly slaying Estemirova but of creating a climate of impunity in Chechnya, thus vesting Kadyrov with political responsibility for the murder. In his turn, Kadyrov accused Orlov of tarnishing Kadyrov's name. "I came home, my mother was crying, the wife, the children, saying that Kadyrov killed a woman," the Chechen leader said.

In his video testimony, Kadyrov described Estemirova as "a very good, normal woman and mother", which is a stark contrast to his 2009 comments that the activist had "no honor, dignity or conscience". Kadyrov allegedly told Estemirova personally that his hands were "up to the elbow in the blood". When asked about these remarks by Orlov's attorney Genry Reznik, Kadyrov replied that he only "killed bandits and terrorists in accordance with the law".

Ramzan Kadyrov has been widely criticized for breeding fear in the republic and "terrorizing" its residents, as Moscow Helsinki Group chair Lyudmila Alekseyeva told Caucasian Knot last week. She emphasized that that Chechen people have been silenced and intimidated as they fear for their lives and the wellbeing of their relatives. Rights activists accuse Kadyrov of widely practicing 'guilt by association', incarceration, abduction and torture of relatives of political activists and suspected militants.

In the same interview, analyst Ruslan Martagov made staggering remarks that the putative success of Kadyrov's counter-terrorism tactics results not from his ability to eradicate extremism but to fulfill Wahhabis' demands by molding a virtually Sharia-based republic and doing away with the elements of a secular society.