The OSCE Wednesday protested against legal action thrown at a Russian rights group that accused the leader of Chechenya of being responsible for murdering an activist in July.

- Criminalisation of critical political statements is unacceptable and contravenes OSCE free-speech commitments - said Miklos Haraszti, representative on freedom of the media for the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In October a Moscow court ordered the rights group Memorial and its chief Oleg Orlov to pay a total of 70,000 rubles (2,340 dollars) in compensation for damaging the honour and reputation of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's volatile southern region of Chechnya

Orlov had stated he was sure Kadyrov was guilty over the murder of activist Natalya Estemirova.

- In his comments after Estemirova's assassination, Orlov made clear he meant that Kadyrov was politically accountable for the climate of fear that prevails in the Chechen Republic. Such statements are legitimate opinions in a democracy - Haraszti said.

Last week the European parliament awarded Memorial a prize for its work.