Malika Djikaeva's relatives complain about ban to visit her in SIZO

In her letters from SIZO (pre-trial prison), Malika Djikaeva, a blogger from North Ossetia, has complained about pressure from law enforcers, but her relatives could not visit her because of the imposed ban, her sister has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Malika Djikaeva, an Instagram blogger from North Ossetia, was detained in Grozny on March 9 and placed into the SIZO on suspicion of drug possession. Her relatives are convinced that the drugs were planted on her with the aim to punish her for her videos in hijab. Malika insists on her innocence; and experts have confirmed that she had not taken narcotic drugs, her advocate asserts, adding that Djikaeva had once injured herself at the SIZO, and she was rendered medical help.

Karina Djikaeva, Malika's sister, and other relatives do not rule out that she could have injured herself in protest against the pressure exerted on her at the SIZO.

"(Malika) wrote a letter to us, in which she said that she was being abused at the SIZO, but she asked not to tell her mother about it. Perhaps she (had injured herself) because of hopelessness. We didn't communicate, couldn't visit her or talk on the phone, and couldn't clear out the details. Investigators don't allow us to visit her," Karina Djikaeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 6, 2020 at 10:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.