Rights defenders assess chances of Musaeva's CER

Zarema Musaeva has a chance for the conditional early relief (CER), but the decision depends on Chechen authorities, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 4, 2023, the court sentenced Musaeva to 5.5 years in penal colony for attacking a policeman. On September 12, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya reduced the sentence to five years. The Shali City Court has scheduled the consideration of Musayeva's CER for December 11.

Musaeva's case is unique in that she is actually being punished for the activities of her sons and husband, Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, has pointed out. In his opinion, there is a chance that she will be released.

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, also could not recollect any other cases when a woman was imprisoned for the activities of men from her family. "I remember that some women were persecuted, fired from work, threatened, insulted, but I don't remember that a woman was imprisoned for the actions of her sons and husband," she has stated.

"No woman has ever been punished in such a significant way in Chechnya," Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has added.

However, there were many cases of extrajudicial punishment of Chechen women, he has emphasized. "I find it necessary to point out that most brutal crimes were committed by Chechen authorities and Russian law enforcers against women because of the actions of their husbands and sons. They were abducted, tortured, and humiliated without trial," Mr Kutaev has stated.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.