Seda Suleymanova. Photo: SK SOS
A Chechen woman who was abducted in August after fleeing her home to live with her partner in St. Petersburg may have been murdered by her relatives in a so-called “honour killing”, human rights group SK SOS said on Wednesday.
Seda Suleymanova, 26, fled her home in Chechnya in 2022 fearing for her life after she refused to enter an arranged marriage. She lived with her partner, Stanislav Kudryavtsev, in St. Petersburg until August, when she was arrested by plain clothes police officers on theft charges and forcibly returned to Chechnya. Kudryavtsev says he has had no contact with her since then.
Chechen Human Rights Commissioner Mansur Soltaev, an appointee of Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov, posted a photograph of Suleymanova in late August, saying that she was safe and “feeling fine”. Suleymanova, dressed in traditional clothes, appeared to have a bruise on her neck. Nothing has been heard from her since then.
Suleymanova seen in a photograph published by Chechen human rights commissioner Mansur Soltaev.
SK SOS said it had contacted Russia’s Investigative Committee, the federal body charged with investigating serious crimes, as well as Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office to verify the reports of Suleymanova’s murder, but had received no response so far.
