Lawyer-consultant of "Memorial": Markelov was killed because of his professional activities

All the facts evidence that Stanislav Markelov was killed because of his professional work. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Cyril Koroteev, lawyer-consultant of the Human Rights Society "Memorial".

"We can't tell precisely whether it was a customized murder. Nevertheless, all the factors evidence that he was killed because of his professional work. Stanislav was in charge of many cases. In relation to any of them we can say that there were people who would not like him to address these cases. Has it to do with Lapin's case, or Budanov's one, or defence of anti-fascists? We don't know," Mr Koroteev has stated.

"I knew Stanislav personally; we worked together on some cases - in particular, in 2003-2004 on "Nord-Ost" victims. Basically, he worked of course, and I just helped him," he said.

Cyril Koroteev has reminded that it was not the first case, when the lawyer suffered who worked with complaints lodged by residents of Chechnya: "In 2004, Ibragim Tsurov, the lawyer who worked in Chechnya and Ingushetia, disappeared. In the end of 2008, the European Court on Human Rights ruled that the Russian authorities should be responsible for his disappearance."

"From among human rights activists, who had no status of lawyer, Victor Popkov disappeared in 2001, as well as Bulat, a driver of the 'Memorial'," the lawyer has added.