Moscow court clears rights activist of slandering Chechen leader Kadyrov

A MOSCOW court has acquitted a human rights activist of slandering Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman who rules the southern province with the Kremlin's blessing.

The court yesterday ruled Oleg Orlov's allegations that Mr Kadyrov was responsible for the killing of an activist in Chechnya were "hypothetical" and did not constitute slander, a surprise decision in a country where acquittals are seldom handed down and the courts are primarily a tool to protect the powerful.

Mr Orlov had maintained the charges were aimed at undermining his Memorial human rights group, which has accused Mr Kadyrov of overseeing extra-judicial killings, kidnappings, torture and other human rights violations.

He said "It's a joyous occasion. I took this case as being political right from the start. I always said that in the eyes of the law we were right.

"I'm glad not that I've been vindicated, but that justice has been done. It's a very rare thing."

Mr Kadyrov's representative in court, Andrei Krasnenkov, said he would appeal the "unjust" verdict. He added: "It doesn't matter if the court didn't find malice. It was slander. It's an unjust decision."

Mr Orlov claimed Mr Kadyrov was behind the 2009 killing of his group's representative in Chechnya, Nataliya Estemirova. She was kidnapped outside her house in Chechnya's provincial capital, and found shot in July that year.