Russian leader condemns killing of Natalia Estemirova.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed "outrage" at the murder of a prominent human rights activist, Natalia Estemirova.

He has ordered an inquiry into the killing of Ms Estemirova, who was investigating alleged abuses by government-backed militias in Chechnya

MOSCOW — Ten people were arrested and will be charged soon in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian chief prosecutor said Monday.

"We have made serious progress in this case," Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks. "As of today, 10 people have been arrested, and literally in the nearest future they will be charged with the commission of this grave crime."

Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin who exposed human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in October.

Her killing drew international attention, compounding concern about the safety of journalists and Kremlin critics in Russia.

A prominent Russian human rights activist, Natalia Estemirova, has been found dead in the North Caucasus.

She was bundled into a van and abducted as she left her home in Chechnya on Wednesday morning, a colleague said. Her body was found in Ingushetia.

Award-winning Russian human rights campaigner Natalia Estemirova, who has been found shot dead in the North Caucasus, documented hundreds of cases of abuse in Chechnya.

Her work for the Russian human rights group Memorial latterly focused on alleged human rights violations by government-backed militias.

Such was her importance as a regional expert that her office in the Chechen capital Grozny became the first stop for many visiting journalists, BBC Moscow correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes recalls.

Hours before she died, activists held a press conference that called for Mr Putin's prosecution before an international criminal court.