Rights defenders find it a must to release Musaeva for health reasons

The deterioration of Zarema Musaeva's health condition is another reason to apply CER (conditional early relief) to her, but she is actually being held hostage by Chechen authorities, human rights defenders have pointed out. Her diabetic cataract requires treatment at a specialized clinic, the doctor asserts.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Musaeva was never given a medical examination after a request for her release was sent in December 2023 due to her grave health condition. On March 28, her advocate reported that her vision had deteriorated sharply, and swellings and severe pains appeared.

The deterioration of Musaeva's health with the threat of vision loss should be a signal for the leadership of Chechnya, Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee* is sure.

According to her story, the threat of Musaeva losing her sight requires intervention in the situation. "If Musaeva loses her vision, it will be on the conscience of Chechen leadership," Ms Gannushkina* has pointed out.

A human rights defender from the "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence** believes that the threat of Musaeva losing her sight is not a reason for Chechen justice to release her from custody.

Diabetic cataract is one of the complications in patients with diabetes, Irena Nersesova, a doctor, has explained, adding that in most cases, surgery is the solution.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the roster of foreign agents was the spread of "inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces.