Police in St. Petersburg have opened a probe into the disappearance of a Chechen woman whose whereabouts have been unknown since August when she was sent back to Chechnya, where rights defenders say she may have been the victim of a so-called honor killing.
The SK SOS human rights group said on April 3 that it had been informed by the Investigative Committee that its officers have started investigating the disappearance of Seda Suleimanova.
Russian authorities had been reluctant to investigate Suleimanova's case and in recent months had briefly detained several of her supporters who tried to raise awareness about her disappearance.
Suleimanova's story attracted the attention of international human rights organizations after police in St. Petersburg detained her along with her partner, Stanislav Kudryavtsev, at their apartment and took them to a police station. There she was informed that she was suspected of stealing jewelry in Chechnya, a charge she rejected.
Suleimanova was then transferred to Chechnya, and attempts to locate her by Kudryavtsev, who converted to Islam to be able to visit Chechnya and marry Suleimanova, have failed.
In September, Chechen authorities issued a video showing Suleimanova in Chechnya. She did not speak in the video, and after it was released no information on her whereabouts was made public.
Suleimanova had turned to the SK SOS in October 2022 for help leaving Chechnya saying that her relatives may kill her for being "insufficiently religious."
Human right defenders say relatives in the North Caucasus often file complaints accusing fugitive women of crimes, usually theft, to legalize their detention and return to their relatives. When they return, the women face violent abuse.
Domestic violence has been a problem in Russia's North Caucasus region for decades. Victims who manage to flee often say that they may face "punishment," including "honor killings," if they are forced to return.
To make matters worse for the victims, local authorities usually side with those accused of being the abusers.