Seda Suleymanova's friend fined for a picket in Grozny

The court in Grozny fined St. Petersburg resident Elena Patyaeva 150,000 rubles for a solo picket on the anniversary of the abduction of her friend, native of Chechnya Seda Suleymanova.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 23, Chechen security forces drew up a protocol against Elena Patyaeva for repeated violation of public event rules after her solo picket demanding an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova. Immediately after her release from the police station in Grozny on August 24, Elena Patyaeva left Chechnya. The security forces drew up a protocol against her for repeated violation of public event rules after her solo picket demanding an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova. Such a protocol may lead to stricter punishment, including administrative arrest, lawyers indicated.

The Akhmat District Court of Grozny imposed a fine of 150,000 rubles on Elena Patyaeva under the article on repeated violation of public event rules (part 8 of article 20.2 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation). This was reported today by the press service of the Supreme Court of Chechnya.

"As a result of the case review, the individual was found guilty of committing an administrative offense," the court's website states. Patyaeva's name is not mentioned in the publication.

From the case card on the Akhmat District Court's website, it follows that the decision on the fine for Patyaeva was made back on September 21, and on October 15, the case materials were submitted to the judicial proceedings department.

On August 23, Patyaeva held a picket in the Grozny Journalist Square, holding a poster with the inscriptions "I demand an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova" and "Micha'yh yu Sed?" ("Where is Seda?"). She spent about three hours in the police station.

On the day of Patyaeva's detention, Chechnya was celebrating the 75th anniversary of Akhmat Kadyrov, and the security forces, according to the activist herself, were waiting for "instructions from the leadership" for a long time. Learning that Elena Patyaeva had previously been held administratively responsible for pickets, they "were pleased". Patyaeva's lawyer Natalia Tikhonova, who accompanied her on the trip to Chechnya, noted that the law does not require approval for solo pickets, but the police still drew up a protocol.

"I understood that they were happy that they could definitely charge me with something. That it would already be a repeated violation. The protocol states that I did not coordinate the picket with the local mayor's office," the project "Word for Defense" quotes Lena's words.

Patyaeva notes that three years after the abduction of Seda Suleymanova, she no longer hopes that her friend is alive.

On March 20, 2025, Patyaeva already held a solo picket in Grozny demanding an investigation into the disappearance of Seda Suleymanova. At that time, she was detained, but soon released without drawing up a protocol. On November 27, 2025, the Krasnoselsky District Court of St. Petersburg imposed 10 days of administrative arrest on Patyaeva, recognizing her solo picket near the police station, where Suleymanova was taken before returning to Chechnya, as a repeated violation of public event rules.