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).
An administrative protocol was drawn up against Aisha Yakubova, the wife of political prisoner Eldar Yakubov, for a photograph of her husband taken in court.
After a hearing in the Kievsky District Court of Simferopol, the woman tried to take a photograph of her husband. The bailiff demanded that she delete the photo. She complied, but they still drew up a report on her failure to comply with the bailiff’s demands. Now Aisha Yakubova faces a fine of up to 3 thousand rubles.
A woman tried to challenge the ban on short-term visits with her husband in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Simferopol. The judge refused visits and calls.
Crimean Tatar Eldar Yakubov is accused of organizing the activities of a terrorist organization and participating in it. Tatars are being tried under these articles in Crimea for their involvement in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia. It operates legally in Ukraine and other countries of the world. In the Russian Federation, alleged participants are sentenced to real terms on the basis that they met in apartments and read religious literature.