A friend of abducted Chechen woman Seda Suleymanova was fined 150,000 roubles (approximately US$1,650) for holding a solo protest in Grozny.

The Akhmatovsky District Court of Grozny has fined Lena Patyaeva, a friend of abducted Chechen woman Seda Suleymanova, 150,000 roubles (about US$1,650). The court ruled that she repeatedly violated the rules for holding public events (Part 8 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Mediazona, citing the court’s press office.

The reason given was a solo protest Patyaeva staged in Grozny on 23 August, marking the third anniversary of Suleymanova’s abduction. She stood by the monument to journalists killed for freedom of speech, holding a sign that read: “I demand an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova” and with the words “Мичахь ю Сед?” (“Where is Seda?”).

• Seda Suleymanova, who left Chechnya due to domestic violence, was abducted in St Petersburg in August 2023. Police officers took her from her home on the pretext of a theft investigation, after which she was taken to Chechnya and handed over to relatives. The last public sighting of her was in September that same year.
• The Investigative Committee later opened an inquiry into a possible murder, but there have been no updates. Human rights defenders suspect that Suleymanova may have been killed by relatives.
• Patyaeva regularly stages protests demanding that her friend be found. She has become one of the organisers of the “Where is Seda?” campaign.