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Episode details

World Service,16 Jul 2009,25 mins

Chechnya's Missing Women

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After years of bitter civil war Chechnya and its devastated capital Grozny are being rebuilt. The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, says his republic is now just a normal part of the Russian Federation. But the kidnap and brutal killing on Wednesday of award winning human rights activist Natasha Estemirova demonstrates the violence and deep unease which still permeates Chechen society. Lucy Ash has been to Grozny to report on the growing number of women snatched from the streets of the Chechen capital. Some are taken as brides, some have simply vanished without trace, others like Estemirova have later been found shot dead. The programme includes one of the last recorded interviews with Natasha Estemirova.

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