Chechen leader promises inquiry into activist killing

The Russian-backed Chechen leader accused of being behind the murder of activist Natalya Estemirova today promised to lead an investigation into the killing.

Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov spoke as the United States and the European Union condemned yesterday’s kidnapping and execution of Ms Estemirova, a forthright investigator of rights abuses in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus.