Musaeva's defense considered the court's decision to be biased.

The court unconditionally accepted the prosecution's case, and Zarema Musayeva's right to a defense was violated during the two-day trial. The Shali Court ignored the lawyers' motions or a request to postpone the trial due to Zarema's poor health, the defense stated.

As reported by "Kavkazsky uzel," in August 2025, the Shali Court of Chechnya sentenced Zarema Musayeva to three years and 11 months in prison for disrupting the work of a penal colony. On February 16, the Supreme Court of Chechnya overturned Musayeva's sentence and, at the prosecutor's request, remanded the case for a new trial. Following the retrial of the criminal case for disrupting the work of a correctional facility, Zarema Musayeva was sentenced to three years and 10 months in a penal colony. Musayeva appealed the verdict.

Zarema Musayeva and her lawyer believe the verdict against her violated her right to defense, the Anti-Torture Team* told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The court unconditionally accepted the prosecution's side. In two days, they managed to question prison staff and medical workers and examine the written evidence contained in the criminal case file. There was no adversarial process at all, as all defense motions were rejected. The defense's motions relate to preparation for the trial and the examination of evidence. Musayeva was denied permission to prepare for the trial. She was denied permission to prepare for the pleadings and to testify. "The court gave the defense only one hour to formulate its position," stated the Team Against Torture*.

Although the court reduced Zarema Musayeva's sentence to three years and 10 months in a penal colony, the reasons for this are unknown, as the reasoning for the verdict has not yet been received, a representative of the Team Against Torture* clarified.

I did not commit any crime, I am the victim here.

In her final statement, Zarema denied guilt, as she has in all previous trials. "I did not commit any crime, I am the victim here. My conscience is clear on this Holy Month," she said.

"Musaeva requested a postponement of the trial due to her poor health, but her request was denied. Yesterday (March 4), she became ill during the hearing—she spent five hours in the courtroom. Not expecting such a long trial, Zarema did not take her medications with her.

Zarema Musayeva is the wife of former federal judge Saidi Yangulbaev. Chechen security forces took her away from her apartment in Nizhny Novgorod on January 20, 2022. Afterward, Ramzan Kadyrov accused the Yangulbaev family of organizing a terrorist network and stated that their place awaited them "in prison or underground." You can read about Kadyrov's conflict with the Yangulbaevs in the "Caucasian Knot" reports "How the Yangulbaevs Became Kadyrov's Enemies" and "The Main Thing About the Fight Between Kadyrov's Men and the Yangulbaevs".

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said a representative of the Team Against Torture*.