Kadyrov wants Orlov to be made criminally liable

Today, the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov answered - by means of the video conference - the questions of the magistrate court of the Khamovniki District of Moscow and stated that the words of the head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" Oleg Orlov about of his guilt in the murder of rights defender Estemirova had tarnished his honour and dignity. Kadyrov said that he wanted to have Orlov criminally prosecuted.

Let us remind you that the criminal case on slander was brought against Orlov in the context of his statements about Kadyrov's responsibility for the murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial".

Mr Kadyrov said that Orlov's statements are "a big stigma on the Kadyrov family; he has four daughters and three sons, who will create their own families."Orlov's accusations denigrate our honour, conscience and dignity; so we decided to settle the case in accordance with the law," he said.

When responding to the question of the judge, Kadyrov said that he wanted Orlov to be prosecuted. However, he did not ask for any specific sentence, noting that it should be appoint "under the law", the ITAR-TASS reports.

When asked by Genry Reznik, Orlov's advocate, whether he felt guilty as the leader and guarantor of the Constitution for the murder of the human rights defender, he answered in the positive. "Of course, she was a resident of our region. We are sorry, but this is not the first death in Chechnya. We lost 300,000 during the war and under bombings," said Kadyrov.