A court in the Russian republic of Chechnya has decided to reduce the prison term of Zarema Musaeva, the mother of prominent Chechen activist Abubakar Yangulbaev, a civil rights organization reported on Tuesday.
In July, Zarema Musaeva was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for charges of assaulting authorities and committing fraud, claims that she vehemently denies.
Human rights groups have denounced Musaeva’s conviction, arguing that it was retribution for the activism of her three sons: Abubakar, Baysangur, and Ibragim Yangulbaev, who are vocal critics of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
The Supreme Court of Chechnya has now recognized Musaeva’s chronic illnesses as mitigating circumstances and has ruled that she will serve a reduced sentence of five years in prison, according to the human rights organization Crew Against Torture.
Musaeva has also been granted permission to serve her sentence in a prison settlement, a remote area where inmates are allowed to move about under guard supervision, instead of the correctional facility where she is currently held.
The Crew Against Torture stated that prosecutors had requested a reduction in Musaeva’s sentence due to her declining health.
Abubakar Yangulbaev and human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about Musaeva’s declining health as she has been denied access to adequate medical care by the authorities.
In January 2022, Musaeva was forcefully apprehended by Chechen law enforcement in the family’s apartment in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, located approximately 420 kilometers east of Moscow.
The Chechen security officers also attempted to detain Musaeva’s husband, retired federal judge Saydi Yangulbaev, but failed to arrest him due to his judicial immunity.
