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).
On February 10, 2023, a 60-year-old political prisoner from Crimea, Dzhemil Gafarov, died in a pre-trial detention center in Novocherkassk, Rostov region. He needed kidney dialysis, but he was not provided with qualified medical care.
The Investigative Committee refused to initiate criminal proceedings against employees of the pre-trial detention center and the medical unit.
Earlier, lawyer Rifat Yakhin brought forward several charges: failure to provide medical care to Gafarov, abuse of power and negligence. According to him, before his death, the prisoner complained several times over the course of a month to the management of the detention center about deteriorating health: he had a burning sensation in his heart, a headache, high blood pressure, and difficulty breathing.
After the death of Dzhemil Gafarov, an autopsy showed that his death was due to acute cardiovascular failure, which was caused by atherosclerotic heart disease. The political prisoner died in custody a few days after the transfer.