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Al Jazeera English - Europe - Chechen president blamed for murder

Al Jazeera English - Europe - Chechen president blamed for murder: "A Russian human rights group has blamed Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed president, for the kidnap and murder of an award winning activist.

Natalia Estemirova's body was found on Wednesday near the city of Nazran in Ingushetia, the region neighbouring Chechnya, just hours after she was seized from her home in Grozny, the Chechen capital.

'I know, I am sure of it, who is guilty for the murder of Natalya ... His name is Ramzan Kadyrov,' Oleg Orlov, the chairman of Memorial, said in a statement posted on the group's website late on Wednesday.

'Ramzan already threatened Natalya, insulted her, considered her a personal enemy.

'We do not know if he gave the order himself or his close associates did so to please their boss.'

Memorial and Human Rights Watch (HRW) had earlier this month issued a report accusing Chechen security forces of punishing families of alleged fighters by burning down their homes.

'No mercy'

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, said staff at Memorial are 'visibly shaken by the news.

'Her colleagues ... are also very bitter as well. They feel she has fallen foul of the leadership in Chechnya."

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