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Human rights activists demand to check the version of the murder of Seda Suleymanova
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Sources in Chechnya voiced a version of the murder of Seda Suleymanova by relatives, the SOS Crisis Group reported and demanded that the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office conduct an investigation.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, nothing has been known for 150 days about the fate of Seda Suleymanova, who was taken by her relatives to Chechnya, her friend said on February 1 at a picket near the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office building. Security forces detained the picketer and released her the same day.

On August 23, 2023, security forces came to 26-year-old Seda Suleymanova and her fiancé, who fled from Chechnya to St. Petersburg, and detained them, explaining that the girl was suspected of stealing jewelry. Then the young man was released, and the girl was sent to Grozny, where she was interrogated as a witness in a theft case and handed over to her uncle and aunt. The lawyers were not allowed to meet with their client, citing the girl’s refusal of their services.

On October 20, Suleymanova’s fiance Stanislav Kudryavtsev announced that he had converted to Islam and asked to meet with her, but received no response from the girl’s relatives.

Seda Suleymanova could have been killed by her relatives, the SK SOS Crisis Group reports today on its website, citing two independent sources in Chechnya.

“Information about a possible “honor killing” against Suleymanova was received by the Crisis Group in early February. On February 6, human rights activists of the SOS IC filed an application with the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation demanding an urgent verification of these reports,” the publication says. “Nothing was heard about Suleymanova for more than 150 days,” human rights activists emphasized.

The Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office, as of 14.35 Moscow time on February 7, did not report on their websites that the application had been received and verified.

Let us recall that back in October 2022, Seda Suleymanova turned to human rights activists because she was afraid that her family might commit an “honor killing”, since her relatives from Grozny were not satisfied with her lack of religiosity. In January 2023, Seda found a job and decided to stay in St. Petersburg. In February of the same year, her relatives already tried to kidnap her, but she managed to escape. After this, Seda changed her job and address, but remained in St. Petersburg, where she was detained.

On August 29, 2023, Chechen Ombudsman Mansur Soltaev, in a report on a meeting with Seda Suleymanova, stated that the girl was not in danger and was safe. Human rights activists then noted that Soltaev did not publish a video of the conversation, but only a photo in which a mark similar to a hematoma was visible on the girl’s neck.

On September 4, 2023, Mansur Soltaev announced a return visit  to Suleymanova. According to him, the girl met him in a good mood and did not express any complaints. At the same time, in the short video that Soltaev published, Suleymanova simply accompanies him to the gate, and music is superimposed on the video.

Women whose behavior is considered a disgrace by their relatives may become victims of “honor killings” in the Caucasus. These murders are committed by relatives themselves, most often a father or brother, says the Caucasian Knot report “ Honor Killings in the North Caucasus.”

The President of the Center for the Study of Global Issues of Contemporary and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development" Saida Sirazhudinova published a report  on December 29, 2023, according to which in Chechnya "honor killings" are the dominant motive for killings of women. The human rights activist also  reported that in Dagestan and Ingushetia they try to hide data on “honor killings,” and in Chechnya, motivating the murder of a woman by her behavior helps to obtain a more lenient punishment.

Posted by: badanov 2024-02-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=690749