Today’s murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov was preceded by many clear warnings and physical threats, some indirect and others quite overt.

In addition to being an outspoken human rights activist with a focus on Ingushetia, the South Caucasus, and the filtration camps of Blagoveshchensk, he also represented numerous clients perceived as opponents of the Kremlin, including the family of Anna Politkovskaya and the victims’ families in the high profile cases against Yury Budanov and Sergey “Kadet” Lapin.  Taking into account the general context of the state’s well documented “war on lawyers” currently occurring in Russia, Markelov’s politically volatile client roster put a specific target on his head.  It is not difficult to understand how any group wishing Markelov harm would interpret the government’s position as “a green light” for impunity.

As such, there exists a pattern of threats against Markelov and government inaction to protect him, which accumulated over the years.