Lena Patyaeva, a friend of missing Chechen native Seda Suleimanova, was charged with an administrative offense after a solo picket in Grozny. She held the protest on August 23, the third anniversary of Suleimanova's disappearance. Under the charges against her, Patyaeva faces up to 30 days in jail or a fine of up to 300,000 rubles.
The refusal to open a criminal investigation into the torture of actor Timur Debyshev of the Grozny Russian Drama Theatre is legal. This decision was made by the Staropromyslovsky District Court of Grozny, as reported by «Team against Torture».
Previously, the investigation had refused to involve the police on 13 occasions under the offence of abuse of authority with violence and robbery. Timur Debishev applied to the «Team against Torture» in November 2018. According to a resident of Grozny, the security agencies found the number of a suspect in illegal drug trafficking in his mobile phone. The actor was detained, beaten and tortured with electric shocks. Examination later confirmed the presence of electro-electrics.
While studying Debishev’s contacts, operatives became interested in his acquaintances from the Chechen folklore ensemble "Nokhcho". At least one of them, Tamerlan Amayev, was beaten by security forces in front of Timur, according to human rights activists.