Prosecutor requests fine of $5,400 in Kadyrov defamation lawsuit

A prosecutor asked a Moscow court on Thursday to fine human rights activist Oleg Orlov 150,000 rubles ($5,413) in a slander case involving Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Orlov, head of rights group Memorial, has publicly accused Kadyrov of being behind the murder of Chechen rights activist Natalia Estemirova in 2009.

The Chechen leader, who called Estemirova a “woman without honor or shame” shortly before her death, has denied the allegation.

Orlov was charged last year with defamation and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

Estemirova recorded hundreds of cases of abuse against civilians by the militia under control of the 34-year-old former separatist rebel turned Kremlin loyalist.

Last year, investigators said Estemirova was killed by a militant named Alkhazur Bashayev, who was allegedly angry at what she wrote about his armed group.

MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti)

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