The authenticity of Mintsayeva's video message has raised doubts among human rights activists and lawyers.

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The video of Belkisa Mintsayeva, who, after a month and a half in security forces' custody, declared that she was fine, raises doubts, particularly as to why she did not inform the human rights activists who were assisting her that she did not need assistance.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the Investigative Committee must review the grounds for Belkisa Mintsayeva's detention in Chechnya, as the kidnapping charge in this case is inconsistent with law enforcement practice, State Duma Deputy Nina Ostanina stated in an appeal to the head of the Investigative Committee. She requested information about Mintsayeva's whereabouts and condition, and to seek a mitigation of her pretrial detention. Ksenia Goryacheva, a deputy from the New People party, also contacted the Investigative Committee regarding Mintsayeva: the Russian Prosecutor's Office informed her that the republican agency had been instructed to conduct an investigation, and the Chechen Prosecutor's Office reported that the appeal had been accepted for consideration. On May 28, Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Akhmed Dudayev published a short video with Mintsayeva, who stated that she was doing well and asked that her situation not be made into news.

Katerina Neroznikova, coordinator of the Marem human rights group, commenting on Belkisa Mintsayeva's situation, noted that child protection authorities can remove children if there is reason to believe they are in danger.

"The question is rather whether they will check this. But in general, if it is suddenly confirmed that there were illegal actions against the mother and children, and that the father may have been involved in some way, then the children should be taken away. Generally, children should be removed from both parents until the reasons are determined. The question is whether this is beneficial for the children. I don't know; the situation is complicated. There is a practice of placing children in a rehabilitation center until the circumstances are clarified. "If it is necessary to establish which parent may have harmed them, for example," Neroznikova told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on May 29. She believes that, if necessary, it is possible to file a complaint without going through the republican Investigative Committee. "If the local Investigative Committee violated the law and illegally detained her, then, of course, it is possible to file a complaint without going through it." "But if we don't know who held it, then we still have to file a complaint with the local Investigative Committee first," Neroznikova said.

At least now we know she's alive and well.

Answering the question of whether the video with Mintsayeva was recorded voluntarily or forcibly, she noted: "We now have a video published where Belkisa appears to be someone who is not being held. She says she's fine and that there's no need to turn her situation into a news story. Of course, the investigative authorities will take this into account, and it will be very difficult to prove that the video was filmed under duress, blackmail, or pressure. Especially when the person is filming themselves. And it's quite clear there that she's filming herself and there's no one around. All of this will be used against arguments that something is wrong with her. "But at least now we know she's alive and well," Neroznikova noted.

Meanwhile, in her opinion, the mere appearance of such a video doesn't mean Mintsayeva is safe. "It seems like a video should dispel any doubts, but this method isn't the first time. Women and girls have appeared in videos before. For example, Seda Suleimanova also appeared in a video. Did it help her in any way? No. Publishing a video is a standard move, I think. When complaints become so serious that a response is necessary. After all, there was a parliamentary inquiry. Whether you like it or not, you have to respond," Neroznikova explained.

What prevented her from saying, 'I don't need any more help, thank you very much.'

She also doubts the video because Mintsayeva didn't inform human rights activists of her intention to publish the appeal. "She has contacts with human rights activists who helped her. And if she wanted them to stop writing about her, and she had free access to a phone, communication, what prevented her from saying, 'I don't need your help anymore, thank you very much.' This happens. Anything can happen; she could have easily changed her mind, for example, decided to start living with her husband again, stay in his home village with both her daughters, or move back to Chechnya. Of course, she could have made all of this decision; she has every right to do so. But nothing stopped her from telling the people who had supported her for so long, and in 99% of situations when a woman makes this voluntary decision, that's exactly what she does," Neroznikova emphasized.

She believes that Mintsayeva's future largely depends on whether Deputy Nina Ostanina is persistent in pursuing her inquiry and getting a clear answer from the investigative authorities. "The authorities are no longer responding to inquiries from human rights activists." "Perhaps a parliamentary inquiry will help after all. I hope this wasn't a formality, but rather that the inquiry was genuinely motivated by concern for the woman," Neroznikova said.

Lawyer Abusupyan Gaitayev said that it's impossible to downgrade the case from criminal to administrative. "The criminal case must first be dismissed, and then the question of whether it constitutes an administrative offense can be decided," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the lawyer, the standard time limit is one month, but there are exceptions. "As for detention, a person can be detained without a detention report being drawn up for three hours, after which they must either be released or a detention report must be drawn up. After a detention report is drawn up, they must be released or a preventive measure must be chosen within 48 hours. "And, of course, they can write to a higher-level Investigative Committee, bypassing the local Investigative Committee, but usually the higher-level one still passes the complaint on," Gaitayev noted.

The prosecutor's office, again, when reviewing the refusal material, may ask: what prevented you from personally interviewing Mintsaeva? Were you fed an unknown video, from unknown sources?

Lawyer Timofey Shirokov stated that evidence is assessed in its entirety, and therefore the publication of the video alone does not predetermine the decision in Mintsaeva's case. "Therefore, it cannot be said that this appeal is final. Everything depends on how the investigating body views it. That is, they can, roughly speaking, if their directive is to hush it up as quickly as possible, saying that since there is an appeal, everything is fine. But if the directive is viewed critically and questioned, then, of course, this will not be enough. And the prosecutor's office, again, when reviewing the denial, might ask: what prevented you from personally interviewing Mintsayeva? You were fed an unknown video, from unknown sources. Maybe it was a deep fake after all. "By law, the woman herself must be invited to the Investigative Committee or come to her and take a statement from her in private," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the lawyer, the Investigative Committee's central office has the right to seize any regional material and initiate its own proceedings. "Or it has the right to directly file a complaint with the central office. But it must be understood that in the vast majority of cases, this will all be passed down based on territoriality. In a normal situation, it's better not to do this, because it will only delay the review process, the complaint will bounce around through the authorities, and ultimately, it will be processed anyway. But if this is some kind of extraordinary case, especially one with public resonance, then perhaps it makes sense," Shirokov concluded.

"Caucasian Knot" wrote that Chechen authorities had previously published videos of other people whose fates were of active interest to journalists and human rights activists. For example, in August 2023, they published a video of a person brought from St. Petersburg Seda Suleimanova; the Chechen Human Rights Commissioner Mansur Soltayev then stated that the girl was not in any danger, but no messages were received from her in the following years. According to a number of sources, Seda Suleimanova was killed within a few months after this, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Abduction of Seda Suleimanova". Seda Suleimanova's friend Lena Patyaeva, back in 2025 transmitted information to the Investigative Committee about the possible location of her burial.

In June 2023, Chechen security forces arrived at the Moscow airport to pick up Selima Ismailova, who had fled domestic violence; the next day, she She was taken to Grozny. Some time later, Soltayev published a video of a conversation with Ismailova, stating that the girl was with her family, was completely fine, and was not being restricted. Telegram users suggested that Selima was forced to participate in the recording of this video.

On June 10, 2021, security forces took Khalimat Taramova, who was in a Makhachkala shelter for victims of domestic violence, to relatives in Chechnya. After returning from the shelter, she made another escape attempt. Immediately after Taramova was taken from the shelter, the Grozny State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company published a special report about her. In the report, Khalimat Taramova said she was glad to be home and assured that she was "absolutely not being discriminated against" and was "being well fed." The girl behaved unnaturally and could hardly have answered questions sincerely, they indicated. Then the authors of the comments to the TV report and questioned the words about the observance of her rights in Chechnya.