Chechen woman forcibly returned after fleeing family may have been killed on Kadyrov ally’s orders

A Chechen woman who was forced back to the region after fleeing her family may have been killed and buried in her home village, David Isteyev, director of the human rights group SK SOS, told TV Rain.

Seda Suleymanova fled her relatives in 2022 after they allegedly threatened to kill her for refusing an arranged marriage. In 2023, she was arrested in St. Petersburg and sent back to Chechnya.

Human rights activists say they learned of her possible death from anonymous sources.

“This information came from several independent sources who may have access to details from Seda’s relatives, family friends, or other close contacts. We can’t verify it, but we believe it to be fairly credible,” SK SOS wrote on Telegram, while cautioning that the claims could still just be rumors.

According to the group’s sources, Suleymanova was killed on the orders of Adam Delimkhanov, a State Duma deputy from Chechnya and close ally of Governor Ramzan Kadyrov. She was reportedly buried in the village of Alkhan-Yurt “outside the cemetery, like a dog, by the side of the road.”

SK SOS spokesperson Alexandra Miroshnikova told TV Rain she is “completely certain” Suleymanova is dead: “I don’t see any scenario in which she could still be alive.”

Valeria Kirsanova, the TV Rain journalist who first reported the story, noted that it’s currently impossible to legallyconfirm whether Suleymanova’s body was buried near the cemetery.