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).
In colony-settlement No. 3 of the city of Argun (Chechnya), recently transferred Zarema Musaeva, suffering from a number of diseases, was put on preventive registration. The administration of the institution considers her dangerous and prone to attacking law enforcement officers, the Team Against Torture reported. Earlier, human rights activists noted that the mother of Chechen activists, Zarema Musaeva, moves in the colony with the help of a cane and experiences back pain.
In July, a court in Grozny found Zarema Musayeva guilty of using violence against a police officer and sentenced her to five and a half years in prison. According to lawyers, due to her health condition, the woman cannot serve her sentence. She suffers from type 2 diabetes and has had persistent nosebleeds and arm pain. In September, the Supreme Court of Chechnya commuted the sentence to 5 years in a penal colony.
Zarema Musayeva is the mother of Chechen activists Abubakar, Ibragim and Baysangur Yangulbaev. In January last year, she was abducted by security forces from an apartment in Nizhny Novgorod and taken to Grozny. Later, a criminal case was opened against her under the article of violence against a police officer.