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).
Crimean Tatar Remzi Memetov, sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison and serving time in a Stavropol colony, suffers from high blood pressure. He is constantly dizzy and his right eye moves poorly, the political prisoner’s wife said.
In December 2018, Remzi Memetov was sentenced to nine years of maximum security on charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing for a violent seizure of power. In July 2019, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to eight years and nine months.
According to investigators, Mamutov organized a cell of the Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in Russia. Participants met, read the organization's literature, and discussed philosophical, religious, and political issues. The Memorial Human Rights Center has repeatedly noted that all members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Crimea, according to criminal cases, did not prepare terrorist attacks, seize power or any violent actions and did not call for these actions.