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Human rights activist in Caucasus shot dead
Oct 25, 2009, 10:24 GMT
Moscow - Unknown assailants in Russia's northern Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria fatally attacked a man known for his work as a human rights activist and opposition politician Sunday, reported the Interfax news agency.
Citing state prosecutors, the agency reported that Maksharip Aushev, who hailed from the troubled republic of Ingushetia, was attacked in his car.
Aushev was one of the highest-profile politicians in the region, which has been rocked this year by regular fighting between forces loyal to the Kremlin-backed local governments and rebellious Islamist militants and other criminal groups.
He spent time as the head of the web portal ingushetia.org, which was critical of the regime. The portal had been started by Magomed Evloyev, who died in police custody in 2008. He was also a member of the expert's council for the Russian government's appointee on human rights issues.
Human rights activists are ever more frequently becoming targets in the various republics of the northern Caucasus, as highlighted this summer with the death of Natalya Estemirova, who worked with the human rights group Memorial to clear up mysteries surrounding attacks on civilians.
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