Aliya Yangulbaeva, the daughter of Chechen political prisoner Zarema Musayeva and former federal judge Saidi Yangulbaev, published an open letter to Aishat Kadyrova, the eldest daughter of the head of Chechnya, on her Instagram account, asking for assistance in securing her mother's release.
In the letter, Aliya asked Aishat Kadyrova to help her mother, Zarema Musayeva, who, according to her, "has been in prison for five years without guilt, despite severe diabetes."
"I know, Aishat, that you are the one who can help me and my mother. You are both a daughter and a mother... You, like no one else, can understand the pain of a daughter and the pain of an innocent mother. And I don't wish this pain on anyone. Men sometimes find it difficult to change their minds. But it's women who know how to find the words that can melt even the hardest heart." "A daughter knows how to speak to her father so that he will listen," the girl writes.
In the letter, Aliya recalled Aishat Kadyrova's charitable work and expressed hope that her mother's story will not leave her indifferent.
"I ask only one thing: help me ensure that Zarema Musayeva celebrates her 57th birthday not behind bars, as in previous years, but in freedom, next to her family. May Allah answer my dua through you," the prisoner's daughter urged.
In an exclusive comment to the publication "Novy DOSH," Aliya Yangulbaeva said that she had been working toward the decision to write this appeal for a very long time.
"This wasn't a spontaneous move. Every day, every night, I thought about my mother, about what was happening to her, about what I could do, and who else I could turn to," she shared.
Aliya emphasized that "when your mother is in prison, when you know she's sick, and you can't be there, can't hug her, support her, and help her, that feeling is indescribable."
"I wake up thinking about my mother and I fall asleep thinking about her. There's not a single day, not a single minute, when I stop worrying about her," she admitted.
Aliya explained her choice of Aishat Kadyrova as the recipient of the letter by saying, in her opinion, "only a daughter can fully understand another daughter. Only a mother can understand the pain of a child who fears losing the person closest to her."
"That's why I decided to address Aishat. First and foremost, as a woman, as a daughter, as a mother. I know she helps people; I've heard many stories of how she responded to others' misfortunes. And today, I'm addressing her not as a public figure, but as someone who can hear the pain of others," Aliya asserted.
On August 3, Zarema Musayeva will turn 57, and in this context, her daughter notes how important it is "for someone who is ill and far from her family" to be with her loved ones on this day.
"Today is my last hope. As a daughter, I have already used every opportunity within my power. Therefore, I am now writing this letter and I sincerely hope that my voice will be heard. Because this appeal is not about politics or controversy. It is about a daughter who simply wants to see her mother home," says Aliya Yangulbaeva.
As a reminder, 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 transferred to Chechnya. There, she was charged with fraud and assaulting a police officer. Investigators believe she scratched his face during transport.
In July 2023, a Grozny court sentenced the woman to five years in prison, but in March 2024, the cassation court reduced the 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 ten 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 strap. 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."
