Russia's Memorial human rights group could close its branch in Chechnya over alleged threats recently voiced by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on local television, Ekho Moskvy radio station said citing the group's statement.
Kadyrov told a television channel in Grozny on July 3 that journalists and Memorial activists who criticize his policies are well paid by the West. He said they were "the enemy of the Chechen people, the enemy of the law and the enemy of the state".
Oleg Orlov, the head of the Memorial, said on Thursday that the statements made by the Chechen president could be considered as "a direct and real threat" because they might be interpreted by the republic's law enforcement as a call to action against human rights activists.
Orlov accused Kadyrov in July last year of involvement in the murder of rights activist Natalya Estemirova in the troubled North Caucasus republic.
Estemirova, a leading Memorial researcher in Chechnya, was abducted outside her home in Grozny, Chechnya's capital, on July 15 and found shot dead in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia later the same day.
Her murder, which sparked international outrage, was followed three weeks later by the killings of Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov, who both worked for a Chechen charity.
The Memorial suspended its work in Chechnya following the murders but resumed its activities in December.
