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Human rights activist, husband kidnapped in Chechnya
Aug 11, 2009, 1:00 GMT
Moscow - Armed men are believed to have kidnapped a human rights activist and her husband Monday in Grozny, capital of the volatile Russian republic of Chechnya, Interfax news agency reported.
Zarema Sadulayeva, the head of non-governmental organization Save the Generation, and her husband Alik (Umar) Lechayevich Dzhabrailov were reportedly taken from the group's office Monday afternoon, witnesses said.
Officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the couple by Russian human rights organization, Memorial. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that this has raised fears that the kidnapping was in retaliation for Sadulayeva's activism.
'The shocking murder of Natalia Estemirova only last month has made it obvious that activists in Chechnya are being targeted for their work and are extremely vulnerable,' said Holly Cartner, HRW's Central Asia director.
Estemirova, a researcher for Memorial in Grozny, was abducted and later found killed on July 15.
Save the Generation provides psychological and physical rehabilitation for disabled children and orphans.
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