Stanislav Yuryevich Markelov (Russian: Станисла́в Ю́рьевич Марке́лов, IPA:[stənʲɪˈslafˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕmɐrˈkʲeləf]; 20 May 1974 – 19 January 2009) was a Russian
human rights lawyer. He participated in a number of publicized cases, including those of left-wing political activists and
antifascists persecuted since the 1990s, as well as journalists and victims of
police violence.
Inter alia, Markelov had been the attorney for the family of
Elza Kungaeva, a young
Chechen woman killed by Russian colonel
Yuri Budanov, who was released from prison in mid-January, 15 months before his original sentence was to end. Markelov was murdered by members of the neo-Nazi organization BORN on 19 January 2009 in Moscow.
Career
Markelov was a president of the Russian Rule of Law Institute.[1] He represented
Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in Moscow in 2006; Mikhail Beketov, the editor of a pro-opposition newspaper who was severely beaten in November 2008; and many Chechen civilians who had been tortured. He also defended people who were victims of the
Moscow theater hostage crisis.[2]
Markelov was shot to death on 19 January 2009 while leaving a news conference in Moscow less than 800 metres (1⁄2 mi) from the
Kremlin; he was 34.
Anastasia Baburova, a journalist for Novaya Gazeta who tried to come to Markelov's assistance, was also shot and killed in the attack.[3][4]
In November 2009, Russian authorities declared the end of the criminal investigation. The murder suspects were 29-year-old Nikita Tikhonov and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Yevgenia Khasis, a radical nationalist couple involved with a group called Russky Obraz or Russian Image (
Russian: Русский образ) and associated with the
identitarian organizationBORN [
ru] (
Russian: Боевая организация русских националистов).[13][14]