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Russian activist cleared of defaming Chechen leader

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:43 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Activist held leader responsible for colleague's killing

* Court says not guilty for voicing his opinion

By Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW, June 14 (Reuters) - A Moscow court on Tuesday acquitted a Russian activist who was charged with defaming Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader by holding him responsible for the murder of a fellow campaigner.

The ruling surprised observers, who have often accused Russian courts of bowing to powerful political interests.

The court ruled that Oleg Orlov, the head of rights group Memorial, was not guilty of criminal defamation as he had only expressed an opinion and had not accused Ramzan Kadyrov of personal involvement in the killing.

Kadyrov -- a one-time rebel who Russia counts on to keep a lid on insurgent violence in Muslim-majority Chechnya -- won damages from Orlov in a civil defamation case in 2009.

He then pushed on with a criminal defamation case that could have seen Orlov facing three years in prison.

Orlov had accused Kadyrov of creating an atmosphere of lawlessness in Chechnya that led to the 2009 killing of Natalya Estermirova, an activist who was found dead after being abducted in the Chechen capital Grozny.

Estemirova's killing outraged foreign governments and increased scrutiny of Kadyrov, who critics say rules the region as a personal fiefdom, an accusation he denies.

Kadyrov denied any involvement in killings in the restive region during the trial in April. [nLDE73R1EV]

The court said it rejected Kadyrov's suit because: "Orlov spoke his personal opinion and did not say Kadyrov personally participated in orchestrating the murder," the ruling posted on Memorial's website said.

Kadyrov's lawyers said they would appeal against the decision.

Orlov and other rights activists hailed the ruling as a victory for the Russian justice system, freedom of speech and their work in the troubled North Caucasus.

"I don't regret a single word I said publicly and for which I am being blamed now," Orlov told the court ahead of its ruling.

"My actions were not a crime. I have proved my case here, and I have defended the right of Russian citizens to freely speak their mind," he said.

Human Rights Watch said investigators should now concentrate on finding those who murdered Estemirova, 50, whose body was found riddled with bullet holes. "We are really happy about the outcome of the trial ... It's incredibly important for all of Russia's human rights community," Tanya Lokshina, deputy head of HRW's Moscow bureau, told Reuters.

Kadyrov began a new five-year term as Chechnya's leader this year after being nominated for re-appointment by the Kremlin.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin credit him with keeping a shaky peace a decade after major fighting ended in the second of two devastating wars pitting federal forces against separatist rebels.

Chechnya's insurgency has spread to other provinces in Russia's North Caucasus and much of the violence is now taking place in the neighboring Dagestan and Ingushetia provinces. (Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Andrew Heavens)