Fire hits human rights office in Russia's Dagestan

MOSCOW. August 20. KAZINFORM A fire broke out overnight in the office of a human rights organization in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the organization's head reported on Thursday, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

"I found out there had been a fire when I arrived at the office at 9.30 this morning," Svetlana Isaeva, head of the "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights" organization said. "The office didn't burn down completely, but all our equipment has been ruined."

The blaze could have been an arson attack, Isaeva said.

"We haven't been working in the office for nearly two weeks because the power has been cut off. I visited several times to pick up the mail. The equipment was turned off. It can't have been a short circuit," she said.

International and domestic concern has been rising over the safety of human rights workers in Russia's troubled North Caucasus.

The killings came less than a month after the murder of Memorial rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who had been investigating kidnappings and disappearances in Chechnya for the human rights group, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.