Rights defenders assess ECtHR's decision on Estemirova's murder

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), after finding the absence of any efficient inquiry into the murder of Natalia Estemirova, has awarded her sister compensation for moral harm in the amount of 20,000 euros. Human rights defenders have expressed regret that the ECtHR failed to recognize Russia responsible for Estemirova's death.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Russian authorities provided the ECtHR with an incomplete copy of the murder case files, but there are grounds to doubt the efficiency of the investigation, the ECtHR pointed out on August 31, demanding from Russia to find and punish those responsible for Estemirova's murder. The Court has also pointed out that the applicant, Svetlana Estemirova, Natalia's sister, had failed to prove that Natalia had been abducted by state agents.

Tatiana Glushkova, an advocate from the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"*, believes that this ECtHR's decision provides no real legal leverage that would enable to achieve a real inquiry into the murder case.

However – and Ms Glushkova thinks it to be more important – the ECtHR's decision, in principle, makes it possible to seek familiarization with the case materials. "But I wouldn't really hope for success," she has noted.

The message posted on August 31 on the HRC's website also expressed regret that the ECtHR has failed to establish a substantive violation of Article 2, that is, the responsibility of state officials for the murder of the human rights defender. At the same time, Natalia Estemirova's sister Svetlana was awarded compensation for moral harm in the amount of 20,000 euros.

*The organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice into the register of no-commercial organizations (NCOs) performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 31, 2021 at 07:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.