Chechen Activist Murdered; Prez Eyed

A human rights activist whose probes into abuse by authorities were a constant irritation to authorities has been kidnapped and murdered in Chechnya, the Wall Street Journal reports. Natalya Estemirova was found shot dead along a roadside hours after witnesses saw her being bundled into a car. Chechnya's president, pro-Russia strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, promised an investigation, but many believe Kadyrov himself is behind the murder.

"I know, I am sure of it, who is guilty for the murder of Natalia," said the chief of the rights group that Estemirova worked for. "His name is Ramzan Kadyrov. Ramzan already threatened Natalia, insulted her, considered her a personal enemy." (More Natalya Estemirova stories.)