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).
The Basmanny Court of Moscow decided to arrest in absentia the leader of the Georgian National Legion fighting in Ukraine, Mamuka Mamulashvili. He is charged with “mercenary activity and inciting hatred using the media with the use of violence by a person using his official position.” A representative of the Russian state news agency TASS spoke about this.
In January, the commander of the Georgian Legion denied information about his death. He called the disseminated information part of Russian propaganda. “They are indulging themselves,” he told Radio Liberty’s Georgian service.
Earlier, Mamuku Mamulashvili welcomed Georgia’s receipt of EU candidate status. The Investigative Committee of Russia opened criminal cases against him under articles on the recruitment of mercenaries and their participation in the armed conflict.