A court in the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya has rejected a request for early release filed by Zarema Musayeva, the imprisoned mother of three self-exiled outspoken Chechen opposition activists.
The Shali City Court ruled on December 12 that Musayeva cannot be granted an early release because the administration of the correctional facility she is held in opposed it, claiming that Musayeva failed to be rehabilitated.
Musayeva is the mother of Ibragim, Abubakar, and Baisangur Yangulbayev, all of whom have fled the country citing harassment from the 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 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 normal prison.
A colony settlement is a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside regular employees. The court reasoned that Musayeva's medical condition, diabetes, warranted the change in sentence.
SEE ALSO: Self-Exiled Chechen Activist Says His Relatives Forced To Go To War In UkraineKadyrov, 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 says 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 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 family.
The activists' father, Saidi Yangulbayev, a retired federal judge, 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 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.