Russian human rights lawyer shot dead

A HUMAN rights lawyer who fought against the early release of a Russian colonel convicted of murdering a Chechen woman was shot dead on a Moscow street yesterday, days after the officer left prison, law enforcement authorities said.

A journalist also was wounded and died later from injuries sustained in the attack, a newspaper editor said.

The broad-daylight slaying of Stanislav Markelov sparked anger among Chechens — already upset by the release last week of Col Yuri Budanov — and prompted an outpouring of grief and ire among Russia’s beleaguered rights activists.