Lawyers representing Zarema Musayeva have once again asked a court in Russia’s Chechen Republic to grant her parole, arguing that she became eligible for early release while being held in pretrial detention, according to the human rights organization Team Against Torture.

Defense lawyer Alexander Savin submitted the request to the Shali City Court.

“While she was still in pretrial detention, she had already served the portion of her sentence required by law to apply for parole,” Savin said.

Musayeva is currently serving a sentence in a second criminal case. In 2026, a court in Chechnya sentenced her to three years and ten months in prison after convicting her of disrupting the operation of a detention facility. The Supreme Court of Chechnya later upheld the verdict.

The charges stem from an incident in October 2024. Investigators alleged that Musayeva struck a prison officer and tore an epaulette from his uniform while being transported back from a hospital. Musayeva has consistently denied the accusations, describing the incident as a premeditated provocation carried out in retaliation against her.

This is not the first attempt to secure her early release. While serving her previous sentence for fraud and assaulting a police officer, her lawyers also sought parole, but the courts rejected the requests twice.

In July 2023, the Akhmatovsky District Court in Grozny sentenced Musayeva to five and a half years in prison. The Supreme Court of Chechnya later reduced the sentence to five years in a penal settlement colony, and in March 2024 a cassation court in Pyatigorsk shortened it by a further three months, reducing the total sentence to four years and nine months.

In December 2023, the Shali City Court denied Musayeva parole. Although the Supreme Court of Chechnya overturned that ruling and ordered a new hearing, the court again refused to release her early in June 2024.

Health concerns remain

Musayeva’s family and human rights advocates continue to express concern about her health.

She suffers from severe diabetes and requires continuous medication and a specialized diet. In May, rights activists launched a fundraising campaign seeking 300,000 rubles, which they estimated would cover approximately six months of medical support and nutritional needs.

A case with political overtones

Musayeva’s prosecution predates the current criminal case.

She is the wife of former federal judge Saidi Yangulbayev and the mother of several outspoken critics of the Chechen authorities.

In January 2022, Chechen security officers traveled to Nizhny Novgorod, where the Yangulbayev family was living. Because Saidi Yangulbayev enjoyed judicial immunity at the time, officers did not detain him. Musayeva, however, was forcibly taken to Chechnya.

Shortly afterward, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov publicly accused members of the Yangulbayev family of involvement in terrorist activities and said their place was “either in prison or underground.”

More than four years later, Musayeva’s family continues to seek ways to secure her release.

In June, her daughter Aliya Yangulbayeva took the unusual step of publicly appealing to Aishat Kadyrova, the eldest daughter of Ramzan Kadyrov, asking her to help secure her mother’s freedom. The appeal was published on June 17.

In an exclusive interview with New DOSH, Aliya Yangulbayeva explained her decision:

“Today, this is my last hope. As a daughter, I have already used every option that was within my power. That is why I am writing this letter and sincerely hope my voice will be heard. Because this appeal is not about politics or disputes. It is about a daughter who simply wants to see her mother back home.”

Neither Aishat Kadyrova nor Ramzan Kadyrov has publicly responded to the appeal.

According to Aliya Yangulbayeva, the family is exploring every possible avenue to secure Musayeva’s release, including the possibility that she could eventually be included in a future prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries.