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 criminal case against the former head of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Stavropol Territory, Alexei Safonov, was sent to the Fifth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction. Safonov is accused of creating a criminal community and receiving bribes on a large scale by an organized group.
Safonov and a number of his subordinates are charged with receiving money for ensuring unhindered passage of trucks through the region.
Earlier, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, property worth 180 million rubles was confiscated from the former police chief and his relatives. The list included 22 objects: apartments, cars, non-residential premises, houses and the famous mansion with golden toilets. Information on the legality of the sources through which the property was acquired was not provided during the verification activities, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation said in a statement.