Nearly 500 sign petition demanding to investigate Timur Kuashev's murder

A petition demanding an inquiry into the murder of the journalist from Nalchik Timur Kuashev has been posted on the Internet. For 13 days, it was signed by 471 persons. Today, it was signed by Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the Public Human Rights Centre of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR). Organizers plan to send the document to investigating bodies.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Timur Kuashev, a journalist, rights defender and public activist, disappeared on July 31, 2014. His body was found on August 1 last year in a suburb of Nalchik. Forensic doctors could not draw a clear conclusion about the reason of his death; however, according to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), Kuashev's body has a sign of injection. The case has caused great public resonance; and in December investigators reported about interrogation of more than 80 people and collection of 9 volumes of materials.

The signatories of the petition, posted on January 9, demand to speed up the inquiry into the murder of Kuashev and establish the cause of his death and find the perpetrators.

"Investigating authorities are protracting the inquiry for six months already. Help to restore the justice!" says the petition. "There's an impression that the Kuashev's murder case is deliberately brought to non-disclosure – like all other cases of journalists' murders in the Caucasus."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.