She dedicated her life to easing the suffering of children scarred by Chechnya’s brutal wars. But good deeds were not enough to save Zarema Sadulayeva from the hitman’s bullet.

Ms Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov, were found dead in the boot of a car in the Chechen capital, Grozny, yesterday, a day after they were abducted from the headquarters of her children’s charity, Save the Generation.

Their deaths bore a chilling similarity to the murder last month of Natalia Estemirova, another prominent rights activist in the turbulent southern Russian republic. Like her, the couple were taken by unidentified men before being found hours later with gunshots to the head and chest.

Human rights groups said the killings showed that it had become too dangerous to work in Chechnya, which is ruled by the Kremlin-backed Ramzan Kadyrov.

Tatyana Lokshina, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Moscow, said: “It is impossible to contemplate rights work in that region now. Activists there are terrified.”

Russian rights activists condemned the killing in a joint statement demanding that the authorities “stop the terror . . . and punish these criminals”.

There was also swift international reaction, increasing pressure on the Kremlin to halt what appears suspiciously like a campaign against rights groups in Chechnya.

Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, condemned the “systematic” murder of activists in Chechnya and urged Russia “to identify, arrest and judge” the killers.

Mr Kadyrov announced that he would take personal charge of the investigation into the murders, declaring it a “matter of honour”. He blamed anti-Kremlin “bandits” bent on undermining the reconstruction of Grozny after two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Army.

However, suspicion is certain to fall on him after the human rights group Memorial accused him of involvement in Ms Estemirova’s death. She worked for Memorial in Grozny and gained international recognition for fearlessly exposing torture and kidnappings of civilians by members of Mr Kadyrov’s security services.

She was highly critical of Mr Kadyrov, who denied any role in her murder. But he stunned observers by dismissing Ms Estemirova as without “honour, dignity or conscience” in an interview at the weekend.

Ms Sadulayeva had a much lower profile. The NGO that she led focused on psychological and physical rehabilitation for children injured and traumatised in the wars. It also worked with Unicef to promote the rights of disabled people and greater awareness of landmines.

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