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).
Ex-President of Georgia Mikhal Saakashvili has been under the supervision of highly professional specialists at the Vivamedi multidisciplinary clinic for more than a year and a half. This explains some improvement in the patient’s health, according to the consultation of the Public Defender of Georgia. Nevertheless, “all psychoneurological pathologies are still of the same degree,” the council’s conclusion says. Doctors visited the former president on January 25.
“Currently there is a positive trend, which is manifested in weight gain. However, according to the conclusion, cognitive impairment, muscle wasting, neuropathy, anxiety, and depression persist,” the doctors said in a statement. The council believes that the patient’s condition does not allow making firm positive prognoses.
Mikheil Saakashvili returned to Georgia from Ukraine at the end of September 2021 and was arrested, having been sentenced in absentia to imprisonment in two criminal cases. After his arrest, Saakashvili went on hunger strike three times.