A rare piece of good news just in on the Russian rights landscape.  Oleg Orlov, head of the Memorial group, has, somewhat surprisingly, been acquitted in the slander case brought against him by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov.  The accusations originated from comments made by Orlov suggesting that the Chechen leader was responsible for the murder of the human rights advocate Natalia Estemirova in July 2009.  Human Rights Watch has this report:

“We are thrilled that Orlov was acquitted,” said Tanya Lokshina, Russia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This gives some hope for justice in Russia.”

Orlov was indicted in June 2010 on charges of criminal slander for his statement about Kadyrov. On the day of Estemirova’s murder, Orlov had commented that Kadyrov bore “responsibility” for the killing. In response, Kadyrov filed and won a civil suit for damages to his “honor and dignity.” After a court imposed fines of 20,000 and 50,000 rubles (approximately US$690 and $1,720) respectively against Orlov and the Memorial Human Rights Center, Kadyrov filed a criminal complaint for slander against Orlov.