Moscow police on Tuesday charged the head of the Memorial rights group, Oleg Orlov, with defamation for linking Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov to kidnappings and killings in Chechnya — even though Kadyrov publicly dropped his claims against the activist in February.
Kadyrov's spokesman said the criminal case was going forward despite the Chechen leader's promise because Orlov had ignored attempts to reach a settlement.
Orlov, who has denied that Kadyrov has sought a settlement, reiterated on Tuesday that he had not done anything wrong.
"I have not committed any criminal offense. I am confident that this case doesn't have a legal leg to stand on but, unfortunately, many cases are conducted outside the law in Russia," Orlov said, Interfax reported.
Orlov was summoned Tuesday to a Moscow police station, where he was notified of the charges, which carry up to three years in prison.
No pretrial restrictions were imposed on Orlov. The case has to be handed to prosecutors before it goes to court.
It was not clear when the trial might start.
Kadyrov filed a civil lawsuit after Orlov accused him of indirect involvement in the unsolved murder of Chechen activist Natalya Estemirova last July.
The Moscow City Court in late January upheld a lower court’s ruling that Orlov was guilty of defamation and ordered him to pay 70,000 rubles ($2,350) in compensation to Kadyrov.
Kadyrov also sought criminal charges against Orlov, as well as human rights champion Lyudmila Alexeyeva and Novaya Gazeta, but he announced in February that he was dropping his complaints against the trio on the wishes of his mother. Kadyrov also faced a public backlash over his quest for criminal charges.
Kadyrov's spokesman Alvi Karimov said Tuesday that the defamation charges, which carry up to three years in prison, went forward because Orlov and his representatives ignored attempts, including phone calls, from Kadyrov's team to reach a settlement. He denied that Kadyrov was trying to punish Orlov.
"The Chechen president is not seeking Orlov's punishment. We are not craving his prosecution," he told Interfax.
Novaya Gazeta and Alexeyeva may face similar defamation charges because Novaya Gazeta has rejected a settlement from Kadyrov and Alexeyeva has not publicly commented on a proposed settlement. Both also have linked Kadyrov to kidnappings and killings in Chechnya.
A report released by the Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in late June accused Chechen authorities of maintaining a climate of fear while government opponents and human rights activists had disappeared.