Europe court: Russian probe into activist murder ineffective

MOSCOW (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that Russian authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into the killing of a prominent rights activist in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Tuesday’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) related to the July 15, 2009 murder of Natalia Estemirova, a leading human rights defender in Chechnya. She was abducted and later found dead with shots to the head and chest. The ECHR noted that some contradictions in the expert evidence led it to doubt that the investigation had been effective. The court required Russia to pay 20,000 euros ($23,600) to Estemirova’s sister and urged Russian authorities to track down and punish the perpetrators of the activist’s murder.