Human rights activists have filed a complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Zarema Musayeva, arguing that her persecution violates international law. In her complaint, she claims to be a victim of punishment for her sons' critical stance toward the Chechen leadership.
The complaint notes that Musayeva's court hearings were flawed and that her lawyers did not have sufficient time to prepare.
The UN Working Group currently has 17 opinions on complaints against Russia. However, it notes that release is not guaranteed, as demonstrated by the cases of Alexei Gorinov, Yaroslav Timofeev, Alexei Moskalov, and Evan Gershkovich. None of them were released as a result of these decisions: Alexey Moskalov was released after serving his sentence, Evan Gershkovich was released in a prisoner swap with the United States, and Alexey Gorinov and Yaroslav Timofeyev continue to serve their sentences.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that Russia does not recognize the binding nature of the decisions of this UN panel. Despite this, the Anti-Torture Team points out the significance of such findings for international law. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) previously found that Zarema Musayeva's initial administrative arrest violated international norms. Human rights activists express hope that the inclusion of Musayeva's case on the agenda of the UN Working Group will also confirm the fact of her ongoing persecution.
In March, following a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Republic to review her case, the Shali City Court of Chechnya reduced Musayeva's sentence from four years to three years and 10 months in a penal colony. In her final statement, she denied guilt in assaulting an FSIN officer, as she had in all previous hearings.
Zarema Musayeva, the wife of a former judge and the mother of Chechen opposition activists critical of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his entourage, was detained in Nizhny Novgorod in January 2022 and transported to Chechnya. There, she was charged with fraud and assaulting a police officer, allegedly scratching his face while being transported.
In July 2023, a court in Grozny sentenced her to five years in prison, but in March 2024, the cassation court reduced her sentence to four years and nine months. Zarema Musayeva was recognized as a political prisoner.
In March 2025, just before her release, a new case was opened against Musayeva. She was sentenced to three years and 10 months in a penal colony for disrupting the functioning of a correctional facility. According to investigators, she attacked a guard during a transfer to the hospital, leaving scratches on his neck and damaging his shoulder straps. However, the accounts of the FSIN officers differed: one claimed to have witnessed the attack, while the other did not.
At the end of 2025, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov admitted for the first time that Musayeva was "taken" to Chechnya because members of her family "worked on social media."
