UN experts offer Russia help in finding human rights activists' killers

Seven UN human rights experts are offering to help Russia bring to justice those behind the killings of prominent activists, lawyers and journalists, AP writes.

The group accuses Moscow of "failure to effectively and impartially investigate the killings and attacks on a number of human rights defenders in recent years."

The experts say this has led to a "cycle of impunity" in Russia.

The statement was signed by UN investigator on extrajudicial executions Philip Alston, torture investigator Manfred Nowak and five other independent experts.

They released the statement Tuesday in response to last week’s kidnapping and slaying of Russian activist Natalia Estemirova in the Chechen capital, Grozny.