Human rights activists linked the campaigns on Suleimanova’s case with the activity of the Chechen Investigative Committee

An investigator suggested that a witness in the case of Seda Suleimanova's disappearance undergo a polygraph test in Chechnya.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, by July 29, 330 people had sent repeated requests to the Investigative Committee of Russia demanding that it take control of the investigation.

In a telephone conversation with Lena Patyaeva, a friend of the missing Seda Suleimanova, an investigator from Chechnya asked about her readiness to undergo a polygraph test as a witness in the case, the Crisis Group SK SOS reported today. Two options were offered: to come to Chechnya or to undergo the procedure in St. Petersburg, Patyaeva agreed to the second option.

"If you come to Chechnya, we can organize it next week, I can do it quickly. "And if at the place of residence, while the request is being processed, it will take more time," an unnamed investigator is quoted as saying on August 8 in today's publication on the organization's Telegram channel.

The article specifies that Patyaeva was already offered to take a polygraph test in 2024, when the Investigative Committee of the Chechen Republic opened a criminal case under the article "murder." Then Patyaeva agreed to come to Chechnya, but the investigators took no further steps.

The crisis group linked the increased activity of Chechen security forces with the campaign to send appeals to the Investigative Committee and collect signatures for an appeal to the Russian Presidential Administration:

"Maybe they were pressured in connection with all this, and they have to create the appearance that there is some progress. Or maybe this is a purely formal process... because they are working “quickly”, which they suggested a year ago, and now they have remembered,” Patyaeva’s words are quoted in the publication.

“Maybe law enforcement agencies are trying to discredit the statement about the crime, casting doubt on the information about Seda’s disappearance,” suggested her lawyer Mark Alekseev.

Recall that in April-May, Seda Suleimanova’s support group collected signatures demanding that the presidential administration ensure an effective investigation. The campaign covered more than 20 cities. On May 13, activists submitted more than 5,000 signatures on signature sheets and 2,000 electronic signatures under the appeal to the presidential administration. The Presidential Administration forwarded the appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee.

On June 16, 2025, it became known that the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs had declared Suleimanova wanted. This indicates rather an imitation of activity, since when a criminal case is initiated, all active actions to search for the missing person are carried out at the discretion of the Investigative Committee investigator, human rights activists pointed out. It is noteworthy that the police officers who detained Patyaeva after the March picket in Grozny called Suleimanova's fate a "family matter".