In St Petersburg, a friend of Seda Suleymanova, the kidnapped Chechen woman, has been detained near the Kadyrov Bridge.

In St Petersburg, near the Kadyrov Bridge, Lena Patyaeva—a friend of Seda Suleymanova, the Chechen woman who was abducted two years ago—has been detained. This was reported by the human rights media outlet “Word to the Defence.”

Patyaeva was holding a solo picket with a placard reading: “Stop jailing me. Jail the killers of Seda Suleymanova.” She stood at the protest for about four hours. According to human rights advocates, she was taken to Police Station No. 42.

The police stated that they intended to question Patyaeva regarding the abduction of Suleymanova.

21:22 Lena Patyaeva was released from Police Station No. 42 after being questioned, reports the “SK SOS Crisis Group.” For several hours, they were unable to question her due to a drone entering St Petersburg airspace.

• Seda Suleymanova, who left Chechnya because of domestic violence, was abducted in St Petersburg in August 2023. She was taken from her home by police under the pretext of a criminal theft case allegedly opened against her. Suleymanova was then sent to Chechnya and handed over to her relatives. The last time she was seen in public was in September 2023, when the Chechen ombudsman visited her.
• In April of that year, the Investigative Committee opened a murder case (Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code) in connection with her disappearance, but no results of the investigation have been reported since. In February 2024, the SK SOS Crisis Group reported, citing two sources in Chechnya, that Suleymanova may have been killed by relatives. In August 2025, human rights activists stated that Suleymanova might have been killed on the orders of an associate of Kadyrov and State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov.
• Suleymanova’s friend Lena Patyaeva has been pushing for an effective investigation throughout this time. She has repeatedly held pickets demanding this and has become one of the organisers of the “Where is Seda?” campaign. In March 2025, Patyaeva held a picket in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. She was detained but soon released without a report being filed.