Fears grow that Chechen officials will fabricate new charges against jailed oppositionists’ mother
Human rights activists fear that prison officials plan to press new bogus charges against Zarema Musayeva, the jailed mother of two Chechen opposition figures. On Thursday, a watch group reported that Musayeva was recently interrogated about a supposed “attack” on a Federal Penitentiary Service officer.
In January 2022, Chechen state agents abducted Musayeva from her home and transported her to Chechnya. She was later sentenced to 5.5 years for “fraud” and allegedly attacking a police officer during her detention. Musayeva’s sons, Abubakar and Ibrahim Yangulbaev, believe their mother’s persecution is the Kadyrov regime’s reprisal for their opposition work.
Musayeva has insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes and should go free in March 2025, assuming the authorities don’t concoct new charges to keep her incarcerated longer.
