Chechen Activist Murdered; Prez Eyed

But human rights activist now faces house arrest

(NEWSER) - The prominent Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia has been freed from prison, after serving three-and-a-half years for "inciting subversion," reports the BBC . Hu's wife posted the news on Twitter this morning. "We are fine and happy. Need to rest for some time. Thank you everyone," the message said. With a large security presence around Hu's home in Beijing, the family is keeping quiet for now, and Hu appears to be under some form of house arrest. Hu's release follows that of artist and activist Ai Weiwei last week. More»

6 killed in Grozny attack

(NEWSER) - At least six people were killed when insurgents stormed the parliament complex in the capital of Russia's troubled Chechnya region today, security forces say. Three attackers, including one suicide bomber, are believed to be among the dead, AP reports. Two police officers and a parliamentary official were also killed before the assault was over. One attacker blew himself up at the gates of the complex while two others stormed the building shouting "Allahu Akbar," said a Chechen police spokesman. More»

Suspicion of Anna Politkovskaya's killers leads to Chechnya

(NEWSER) - Russia's supreme court ordered a new investigation into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the crusading journalist whose killers have not yet been found, reports the Guardian. The move received a cautious welcome from Politkovskaya's lawyer, who welcomed a new manhunt but said, "Whether the general prosecutor will use this opportunity, we don't know." A shambolic trial of four people accused in her death earlier this year ended in acquittals. More»

(NEWSER) - The kidnapping and murder of activist Natalya Estemirova in Chechnya was horrific, her friend writes in a Washington Post op-ed, but not surprising in the "grossly misruled" region where "anyone who challenges the authorities risks her life." Tanya Loshkina, a director of Human Rights Watch, had just left Chechnya, where the two documented torture, abductions, and assassinations. "We sat at my kitchen table talking into the wee hours about who would be next," she writes. "Now I know." More»

Supreme Court throws out acquittals in Politkovskaya case

(NEWSER) - Russia's Supreme Court has overturned the acquittals of three men in the murder of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and ordered a retrial, reports the BBC. Prosecutors claimed that judicial irregularities and misinformation led to an improper verdict, and Politkovskaya's newspaper colleagues have accused the police of shoddy work. Despite international attention in the case, neither the actual triggerman nor those who ordered the killing have been found. More»