Seda Suleimanova could have been killed by her relatives

Seda Suleimanova, a native of this republic, who was kidnapped last year in St. Petersburg and taken to Chechnya, could have been killed by her relatives, said the crisis group “SK SOS” with reference to two independent friends from another source in Chechnya.

Human rights activists noted that they received information about the probable death of a 26-year-old girl at the beginning of February, the day before they submitted an application to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office of Russia with the requirement to conduct an urgent review of these reports.

“So far, not much is known: two independent sources from each other – these are ordinary residents of the republic – have reason to believe that Seda Suleymanova was killed,” – confirmed to the Kavkaz.Realii website the representative of the “SK SOS” crisis group, Aleksandra Myroshnikova.

Suleymanova left Chechnya, fearing an “honor” murder. In August 2023, with the support of law enforcement officers from the republic, she was kidnapped from her apartment in St. Petersburg and taken to Grozny.

In September, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Chechnya, Mansur Soltaev, published a video of a meeting with Suleymanova, on which she does not say a word; since then, there has been no new information about the girl.

• Suleymanova’s fiancé, Stanislav Kudryavtsev, previously converted to Islam, trying to obtain security guarantees for a trip to Chechnya and a meeting with the bride. These requests were unsuccessful.
• On February 1, a friend of the abducted native of Chechnya, Lena Patyaeva, held a picket at the St. Petersburg prosecutor’s office with a poster “Is Seda Suleymanova alive? No one has seen her for 150 days.” The activist was detained and taken to the police, an administrative report was made against her. In an interview with the website Kavkaz.Realii, Patyaeva talked about Suleymanova’s life in St. Petersburg after running away from her family.
• Those fleeing violence in the North Caucasus often face persecution from relatives. Employees of law enforcement agencies detain them – the reason is usually knowingly false accusations of crimes – after which relatives take them back by force.