Imprisoned Mother Of Chechen Activists Hospitalized.

Zarema Musayeva, the imprisoned mother of three self-exiled outspoken Chechen opposition activists, has been hospitalized .

The Team Against Torture human rights group in Russia said on March 28 that Musayeva, who is serving a five-year term in a colony settlement -- a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside regular employees -- was hospitalized after her eyesight deteriorated sharply and swellings appeared on her body.
The rights group quoted Musayeva's lawyer Aleksandr Savin as saying that his client has an acute form of diabetes, cataracts, and constant pain in her knee. According to Savin, Musayeva needs proper medical assistance. Earlier in March, Musayeva's lawyer said the penitentiary authorities in the city of Argun had refused to let Musayeva see a doctor for two months, although a medical examination could have resulted in her early release. Musayeva's initial request for early release was rejected by a court in Chechnya in December. Musayeva is the mother of Ibragim, Abubakar, and Baisangur Yangulbayev, all of whom have fled the country citing harassment from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Chechen police and security officers detained Musayeva in January 2022 in her apartment in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, some 1,800 kilometers from Chechnya, and forcibly returned her to the North Caucasus region's capital, Grozny. In July, a court in Chechnya sentenced Musayeva to 5 1/2 years in prison on charges of fraud and attacking a police officer, which Musayeva and her supporters have denied. In September, the Supreme Court of Chechnya shortened Musayeva's prison term by six months and said Musayeva must serve her term in a colony settlement instead of a penitentiary colony. Kadyrov, other Chechen officials, and a member of the Russian Duma have publicly vowed to kill all members of the Yangulbayev family, calling them "terrorists." Journalists, rights activists, and other Russians have urged the government to punish those who issued the threats. Abubakar Yangulbayev has accused Kadyrov's law enforcement and security officers of "lawlessness on a daily basis in Chechnya" and said the case against his mother is Kadyrov's retaliation for his activities. Ibragim and Abubakar have said they faced years of pressure from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kadyrov and the rights situation in Chechnya. Many of their relatives have been similarly harassed in Chechnya and even deprived of their homes since Kadyrov and his people vowed to kill them and their families. The activists' father, retired federal Judge Saidi Yangulbayev, and a sister fled Russia in January 2022 following the threats. Russian and international human rights groups have for years accused Kadyrov of overseeing grave human rights abuses, including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the persecution of the LGBT community. Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the abuses because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya.