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).
Five police officers from Dagestan, previously found guilty of using violence against a detainee, kidnapping and torture, were released from custody. This happened after the Supreme Court of Dagestan overturned the verdict and sent the criminal case for a new trial to the Karabudakhkent District Court.
According to the verdict, in 2016, the deputy head of the criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan Gimbat Lyakhiyalov and the head of the criminal investigation department of Khasavyurt Rasul Saduev, as well as three of their accomplices, kidnapped a woman to force her to confess to the murder. She was tied up and tortured. In addition, during the search, the police found explosives and drugs.
In 2019, the investigation into the case was stopped, but later the department of the Investigative Committee for Dagestan canceled this decision and resumed the process.