A court in Chechnya denied Zarema Musaeva parole

The Shalinsky City Court in Chechnya refused parole for Zarema Musaeva, the mother of Chechen opposition activists the Yangulbaev brothers. She was sentenced to five years on charges of fraud and assault on a policeman. This was reported by Sota from the courthouse.

The management of the settlement colony in Argun spoke against the parole and early release of the wife of the former federal judge of Chechnya, stating that Musaeva was there for a short time, did not express a desire to get a profession, did not admit guilt and did not repent. The head of the unit for educational work stated that Musaeva demonstrates “blackmail behavior”, what exactly is meant by “blackmail behavior” was not specified in the official description. The prosecutor agreed with the position of the colony management.

The defense stated that Musaeva has already served the term prescribed for parole, and she has no debts or obligations to the injured party that could prevent her release.

“The fact that she “served little” and did not plead guilty are all illegal, unconstitutional arguments that cannot be taken into account by the court when making a decision on the UDO, said lawyer Alexander Savyn.

In July, Zarema Musaev was sentenced to five and a half years in a general regime prison in the case of fraud and violence against a policeman, the Supreme Court of Chechnya reduced the sentence to five years in a penal colony in September.

In the colony, Musaeva was repeatedly hospitalized, her health condition continues to deteriorate, while in the event of parole, her brother could take care of her – his notarized commitment to this effect was added to the case the day before.

• Three of Musaeva’s sons – the Yangulbaev brothers – criticized Ramzan Kadyrov’s regime, and their father Sayda Yangulbaev refused to publicly condemn his sons’ activities. Now all of them are not in Russia.
• Musaeva was forcibly taken from Nizhny Novgorod to Chechnya in January 2022. In Grozny, she was first sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest on charges of insulting a policeman, and then a criminal case was opened against her: she allegedly attacked the precinct officer who was compiling the report and, according to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, “almost left his eye.” Musaeva was later charged with fraud.
• Musaeva suffers from insulin-dependent diabetes and a number of other chronic diseases, and as a result, her health has deteriorated significantly.
• Kadyrov threatened the Yangulbaev family with reprisals the next day after Musaeva’s abduction. On February 2, 2022, a rally was held in the center of Grozny against the Yangulbaev family – their portraits were burned, trampled and torn.
• The human rights project “Support of political prisoners. Memorial” recognized Zarema Musaev as a political prisoner. In early October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it sharply condemned the abduction and politically motivated imprisonment of Zarema Musaeva.

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