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).
The European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the politically motivated kidnapping of Zarema Musaeva in Chechnya and calling for her immediate release.
Deputies expressed serious concern about the harassment and attacks on lawyers and journalists who accompanied Musayeva during her trial. The document also calls on the international community to respond to the alarming human rights situation in Russia, including the Chechen Republic.
Pressure on Zarema Musaeva’s family began in 2017 after the Chechen authorities accused her sons, the Yangulbaevs, of openly criticizing Ramzan Kadyrov. In 2021, security forces kidnapped and took a woman to Grozny, where she became a defendant in a criminal case and was sentenced to five years in prison. Currently, the Yangulbaev brothers, their father and sister are outside the Russian Federation.