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).
A rally is taking place in Tbilisi near the house of activist Nata Peradze. According to the protesters, a woman poured paint on the icon of the Matrona of Moscow in the Sameba Cathedral. The icon depicts a man resembling USSR Secretary General Joseph Stalin.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs called on protesters to maintain order. Police officers are mobilized near Peradze's house to protect public safety and law and order.
The day before, unknown persons poured paint on the icon of St. Matrona of Moscow. At the same time, only the place of the stamp with the image of Stalin was damaged by paint. Civil activist Nata Peradze said she received threatening messages after she shared video footage of the doused icon on her Facebook page on January 9. In turn, the laboratory for the study of the Soviet past demanded that the image of Stalin be removed from the main cathedral of Georgia.