Translated material
Purely Chechen murder
In society
Purely Chechen murder
July 16, 2009 Zoya Svetova
Murdered Natalya Estemirova. Human rights activist. Journalist. Employee of the Grozny branch of the Human Rights Center "Memorial". Natalia collected information and the truth about the second Chechen war since its beginning. All journalists who came to Grozny always came for contacts and information to Natalia. And she carried them to the victims of laid, relatives of abducted, killed, tortured in Chechen prisons. She defended everyone. Those who were abducted by the feds and those who were abducted by the Kadyrovites. She collected information about secret prisons. She helped refugees forced immigrants, whom local officials drove from the PVR (temporary accommodation points).
Introducing the victims of injustice and lawlessness created in Chechnya, Natasha was ready to look for protection for them anywhere: in the prosecutor's office, at the city hall, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the government, and the president. She fought for people like a tigress. And she always spoke with people very respectfully. With a smile. With each petitioner, she talked as with her close relative.
Recently, when, according to the official version, the world has come in Chechnya and who was removed who, Natasha, continued to talk about what the journalists no longer wrote about. Russian. And they almost did not write the western. About the arson of the houses of relatives of the militants. The last information about the public execution in the center of the village of Akhkinchu-Borza of a local resident by unknown armed people-this was also the information of Natalia Estemirova.
She continued to excite public opinion. And this annoyed the Chechen government. She said that they continue to kidnap, kill people in the republic, she talked about hopeless executions. And the Chechen authorities reported that "several shaitans were running through the forests, and they would soon be over." The Chechen authorities wanted its unlawful methods to combat the “shaitans” not to the public. So that no one knew that unknown armed people burn the houses of relatives of young people who go to the mountains. That they kill their wives, old people, children.
The Chechen authorities allowed journalists to write about this, but in a positive way. And there were among us those who wrote about it quite sympathetically. Julia Latynina, for example, in one of her latest programs to Echo of Moscow explained that "26 houses that burned out this year are not very much, given that it is standing at stake ..."
She explained that those who went into the forest "knew that his relatives would be responsible for this, that they would burn them at home." And, according to Latinina, it turned out that everything was right. Otherwise, it is impossible to fight the militants.
Natasha Estemirova was against this method of struggle. She did not agree with him. She denounced such methods.
Bringing as an example the declining number of abductions of people, Julia Latynina claimed that "Chechnya became a place where you can live."
But the murder of Natasha Estemirova completely refutes this thesis.
This is the biggest lie. Chechnya is a place where you still cannot live.
And this is what Natalia herself was talking about. But she lived there because she could not otherwise.
She was threatened. Colleagues asked her to leave. At least for a while. She left. But she returned.
And if we talk about the principle of collective responsibility, then we are all to blame for the murder of the murder. We are journalists who write or do not write about what is happening in Chechnya today.
Yes, after the murders of Ani Politkovskaya and Stas Markelov, it is scary to write about the Kadyrovskaya Chechnya. But to write about the fact that there you can live there, and not to tell the truth about what is happening there in reality is impossible.
It’s better to keep silent. Because the half -truth is legitimizing these terrible, illegal methods built into the law in Chechnya.
And do not say that otherwise you can’t defeat the militants. And this means that "everything is allowed."
And there is no need to say that Kadyrov controls the situation, that he is the owner of Chechnya, and therefore everything is correct.
The murder of Natasha Estemirova proves one of two mutually exclusive things with terrible obviousness: Kadyrov does not control Chechnya or Kadirov fully controls her. After all, if, without the knowledge of Kadyrov, it is possible to kidnap the most famous woman in the republic in broad daylight, then Kadyrov does not control the situation there.
But I myself heard how, at one of the meetings, he stated that he knew everything that was happening in Chechnya. And even about what people are talking about in route taxi. Is it possible that he did not know that organized abduction and murder of Natasha Estemirova is being prepared?
And if he, as they assure us, controls the situation in Chechnya, then he knew about the impending abduction and murder and allowed this murder.
Perhaps soon we will be shown on Chechen television of repentant people who admit this terrible crime.
It can be like militants, so fighters of units, warring with the Kadyrovites. As you know, in Russia - just like in Chechnya - candidates for the role of killers are always located. Especially if they are looking for the order of the authorities.
It is easier, of course, to demonstrate them already killed.
And Natasha is terribly sorry. She was somewhat surprisingly sincere and fundamental. A year ago, we were together in London. I terribly wanted to see Zakayev. She did not meet him.
She did not like some of his statements. It’s so insulting that we did not agree with her ... The last time we saw at the process of killing Ani Politkovskaya. She peered into the faces of the defendants. And I harassed her several times if she knew who could kill Anya.
She only smiled at her so mysterious “Jacond forces” smile and made it clear that she knew ... she joked: she had to conduct an investigation, write. She promised that she would definitely write ...
I did not have time.