German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attend official... 
(AP)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday he is confident that the killer of a prominent human rights activist will be found and punished, while Germany's leader voiced dismay at the slaying and prodded Moscow to ensure it is investigated.
Medvedev visited Germany for regular talks between the two governments, a day after the execution-style shooting of Natalya Estemirova, a daring investigator of rights abuses in Russia's troubled North Caucasus.
Medvedev has reacted quickly to the murder, in contrast to other recent killings, promptly offering his condolences and pushing for an investigation.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel, Medvedev renewed a pledge that the killing will be investigated thoroughly.
"I am sure the killer will be found," he said. "I am sure the person who committed it will be punished."
Medvedev said it was "completely obvious that the killing is connected to her professional activities."
"Her professional activities are something that is needed for any normal state," he added. "She did very important things. She spoke the truth, she openly, even maybe harshly, assessed processes going on in the country — and this is valuable, even if it is unpleasant to authorities."
The murder of Estemirova, whose body was found late Wednesday with bullet holes in her head on a road in Ingushetia, a region west of Chechnya, appeared to confirm that Russia remains a place where political murders are committed without fear of reprisal.
Merkel said she expressed her "dismay at the killing of this courageous woman."
She said she had taken note of the fact that Medvedev "has made clear everything will be done to clear up this murder, because it is an unacceptable event."
The killing "must not remain unexplained, and I believe the Russian side will do everything to arrest the perpetrators and give them their just punishment," Merkel added.
