Moscow human rights lawyer murdered!

2009-01-21 07:43:55 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Justice News Flash, World)

civil rights attorney killed in downtown moscow

JusticeNewsFlash.com breaking news for wrongful death attorneys - Civil justice lawyer murdered in Moscow after declaring legal war on Russian military.

New York, NY (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–After a press conference on Monday, in Moscow, a human rights attorney was gunned down and shot dead. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Stanislav Markelov, a 34 year-old human rights lawyer, was representing the family of an 18 year-old Chechen girl who was kidnapped, beaten, raped and murdered, in 2000, by Col. Yuri Budanov. The Russian military leader was tried and convicted in a Russian court of war crimes, in 2003, for the teens death. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crimes and human rights violations by the Rostov District Military Court.

The guilty Russian military officer was released from prison on Thursday having served only one-and-a-half years of his original ten year prison sentence. The attorney representing the family of the dead girl, Markelov, had held a press conference claiming he would use all legal means necessary to challenge the illegal release of Col. Budanov. Markelov stated he would take the human rights violation and wrongful death claims to an international court.

Shortly after the press conference ended, the human rights lawyer was shot in the back of the head, at point-blank range, on a downtown Moscow street. A freelance journalist, Anastasia Baburova, was also shot in the head by the masked gun man while trying to detain the assailant. She also died from the gunshot wound.

JusticeNewsFlash.com breaking news for wrongful death attorneys