Elena Patyaeva—a friend of Seda Suleymanova, who disappeared three years ago after being forcibly returned from St. Petersburg to Chechnya—was detained in Grozny. On August 23, Patyaeva stood by the monument to journalists who died for freedom of speech, holding a sign that read: "I demand an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova." This was reported by the human rights project "Slovo Zashchite" (Word for the Defense).
A court in Baku extended the detention of social activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev in a pre-trial detention center for three months. Now the arrest period will be 13 months, which is unacceptable for pre-trial detention under the presented articles. The defense will appeal.
Bakhtiyar Gadzhiev was arrested at the end of 2022 on charges of hooliganism and contempt of court. Later, he was charged with new articles on illegal entrepreneurship, legalization of proceeds from crime, falsification of documents and smuggling. The charges brought are related to Hajiyev’s receipt of grants from a European human rights organization.
Representatives of the US State Department, the European Union, the Council of Europe and a number of international NGOs have repeatedly demanded the release of the activist.