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One year after Natalia Estemirova's murder; forced eviction of Imereti residents from "Olympic" lands; start of ethnographic expedition of Russian bloggers to the Caucasus, - look these and other events in the review of the week of July 12-18, 2010, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

In the evening on July 15, the first channel of the Belarusian state television showed an exclusive interview with President of Georgia, in which Mikhail Saakashvili answered the questions on modernization of Georgia, whether it is possible to reconcile Tbilisi and Moscow, when Georgia would join the European Union, about South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and even about his gastronomic preferences.

The investigation continues considering involvement of Alkhazur Bashaev, killed in November 2009, as the main version of the murder of Natalia Estemirova; and it is not clear whether the evidences of employees of the "Memorial" were taken into account, as Alexander Cherkasov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The White House honoured has marked the life and work of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", who was abducted and murdered one year ago, in the sphere of defence of human rights in Northern Caucasus, and reminded that the crime remains unsolved.

In the course of the 10th Petersburg Dialogue held in Yekaterinburg its participants noted that the inquiry of the murder was not persistent enough. They demanded that Russia's authorities do the utmost to solve the murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial", and stop the criminal case against the head of the HRC "Memorial" Oleg Orlov.

President Dmitri Medvedev said, making comments on the information that the authorities of the Russian Federation were not to willing to solve the murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the HRC "Memorial", that the executor of her murder had been precisely established.

The commemoration action was held in the Journalists' Mini-Park; the picket was not advertised and brought together, under organizers' estimates, some 100-150 persons.

Today, one year after kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", a picket in Moscow brought together 50 persons. As reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, there are flowers and lit candles under Estemirova's portrait; and the names of human rights defenders who perished in recent years are written on the asphalt nearby - Magomed Evloev, Maksharip Aushev, Farid Babayev and Anna Politkovskaya.

According to Lord Frank Judd, former PACE's Rapporteur for Chechnya and a member of the British Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG), believes that removal of the information blockade, improvement of social and economic life and organization of the negotiating process are prerequisites of solution of the problems of the Chechen Republic.

Russian authorities have managed to isolate the Chechen Republic from western journalists and almost completely block the flow of independent information from the region. However, the commitment to act most cruelly and violently in Chechnya is in fact an evidence of Moscow's weakness; while the best way out is in improvement of social and economic life in Chechnya and launching the negotiation process. This was told in the interview to the "Caucasian Knot" by Lord Frank Judd, participant of the inter-party parliamentary group for defence of human rights of the British Parliament, former PACE's Rapporteur for Chechnya, who paid a visit to the republic as the head of the British parliamentary delegation on February 15-18, 2010.

Following the PHRG Mission to Chechnya from 15 to 19 February, this report will set out the findings of the PHRG delegates, Lord Frank Judd, Labour Peer and former Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Special Envoy on Chechnya 1999-2003, and Jo Swinson MP, Liberal Democrat and former Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, on the current human rights situation in Chechnya under the Presidency of Ramzan Kadyrov, as well as their recommendations for action by the international community.

Trial on Ruslan Yamadaev's murder begins; members of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) visit the Caucasus; rights defender Orlov is officially accused of slandering Chechen President; Ingush Imams rise ransoms for murder and bride kidnapping, - look these and other events in the review of the week of July 5-11, 2010, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

On July 15, 2010, one year after the murder of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", a commemoration picket will be held at 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the monument to Griboedov (Chistye Prudy metro station). Then, at 7:00 p.m. a memory party will start at 12 Maly Karetny, in the HRC premises.

Today, the Independent Press Centre has hosted a press conference: "Investigation of Natalia Estemirova's murder: questions to investigation."

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), denounces the ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Centre “Memorial”.