Zarema Musayeva's complaint has been sent to the UN.

Zarema Musayeva stated in a complaint submitted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that she is being punished for the actions of her sons, who criticize the Chechen leadership, and that the court hearings in the case are being conducted with violations.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in August 2025, the Shali Court of Chechnya sentenced Zarema Musayeva to three years and 11 months in prison for disrupting the work of a penal colony. On February 16, the Supreme Court of Chechnya overturned Musayeva's sentence and, at the prosecutor's request, remanded the case for a new trial. Following the retrial of the criminal case for disrupting the work of a correctional facility, the court sentenced Zarema Musayeva to three years and 10 months in a penal colony. Musayeva appealed the sentence. The court unconditionally accepted the prosecution's case, and Zarema Musayeva's right to a defense was violated during the two-day trial. The Shali Court ignored both the lawyers' motions and a request to postpone the trial due to Zarema's poor health, the defense stated.

Human rights activists filed a complaint on behalf of Zarema Musayeva with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. This is the body that investigates cases of deprivation of liberty in violation of international norms, the Team Against Torture* reported today.

21:40 17.12.2025

Kadyrov's words emphasize the political nature of Musayeva's persecution

Kadyrov's statement that Zarema Musayeva was detained because of the Yangulbayev family's work on social media confirms the political nature of her persecution, but in the current reality, the Chechen leader's confession will not lead to a review of Musayeva's sentences, human rights activists noted.

In her appeal, Zarema Musayeva says she is being punished for the actions of her sons, who criticize the Chechen leadership, and that her court hearings are being conducted with violations, as was the case in March 2026. Due to the rapid pace of the case, the lawyer was unable to prepare for the witness examination and the court hearing, the statement said.

Zarema Musayeva is the wife of former federal judge Saidi Yangulbaev. Chechen security forces took her away from her apartment in Nizhny Novgorod on January 20, 2022. After this, Ramzan Kadyrov accused the Yangulbayev family of organizing a terrorist network and stated that their place awaited them "in prison or underground."

You can read about Kadyrov's conflict with the Yangulbayevs in the "Caucasian Knot" reports "How the Yangulbayevs Became Kadyrov's Enemies" and "The Main Thing About Kadyrov's Struggle with the Yangulbayevs".

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.