Human rights activists have called for the search for Selima Ismailova.

The reliability of information about the fate of Selima Ismailova, who was detained at a Moscow airport three years ago and forcibly taken to Chechnya, is questionable, and placing her on the wanted list could clarify her fate, human rights activists noted. However, it was only thanks to a widespread campaign that security forces took even formal action regarding Seda Suleimanova's disappearance.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in June 2023, Chechen security forces detained Selima Ismailova at a Moscow airport after fleeing domestic violence. Lawyers were unable to determine Selima Ismailova's whereabouts. In July of that year, Chechen Ombudsman Mansur Soltayev published a video of the girl giving monosyllabic answers to his questions and stated that Ismailova was with her family, was perfectly fine, and was not being restricted. However, Telegram users doubted that the girl had filmed the video voluntarily. Three years later, there has been no news about her fate.

Human rights activists point out the similarities and differences between the cases of Ismailova and Suleimanova

Katerina Neroznikova, coordinator of the Marem human rights group, believes that Selima Ismailova's situation is fundamentally different from that of Seda Suleimanova.

"Firstly, it is important to emphasize that Selima Ismailova has a German appearance." She spoke German. Unlike the vast majority of Chechen women who grew up in Chechnya, she didn't speak or write Russian, or at least spoke it very poorly. She wrote poorly because she had lived in Germany for many years. Three years ago, at that point, she spoke Chechen and German. At the same time, she had some understanding of life in a conservative society because she continued to live there with her family. "Her family is, of course, conservative," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the Marem coordinator, Selima Ismailova had a very specific goal in returning to Germany.

"Her travel options were, accordingly, completely different from those of Seda Suleimanova. While Seda, when she fled her home to St. Petersburg, wanted to live a free life there or by going somewhere abroad, Selima wanted to return to Germany. She wanted to return specifically to where she was accustomed to living," Neroznikova explained.

Meanwhile, there were also similarities in the Ismailova and Suleimanova cases.

"Seda Suleimanova was taken by the police because a theft report had been filed against her. By that time, this had already become a common practice for forcibly returning young women home. It's like a legalized kidnapping, so to speak. The mechanism is as follows: a fictitious theft case is opened based on a complaint filed by the fugitive's relatives. This complaint allows the investigator to summon her for questioning, issue a warrant for her to appear at the location of the alleged crime, that is, Chechnya. Chechen cops then arrive anywhere, pick up the person, and bring her to Chechnya. There, as if by magic, the case can disappear completely, and no one remembers it. Selima Ismailova had exactly the same situation, only earlier, but back then, it was still a fairly rare occurrence, and such a practice hadn't yet been established. There have been cases, but they're not very well-known. For example, there was a girl from Ingushetia. A similar situation happened to her in 2022. And this method greatly surprised everyone," Neroznikova said.

She believes that putting Ismailova on the wanted list could have led to increased efforts in her support.

"Seda Suleimanova was indeed put on the wanted list as missing, and a murder case was opened because, unfortunately, there is compelling evidence that she was murdered. An active campaign in her defense was and still is being waged; unfortunately, it's just harder to draw attention to this campaign. "But thanks to this active campaign, she was declared missing, and a criminal case for murder was even opened," Neroznikova noted.

We've had some suspicious individuals contact us, claiming she's fine, saying, "You're annoying her, leave her alone."

There's no such campaign regarding Selima Ismailova, she noted.

"We simply have no information about her. We periodically remind people on our social media that we remember very well that such a girl existed. We receive some information about her after these publications; some people write to us, sometimes saying she's alive, that they've seen her, that she's working, that she's changed her name. But so far, unfortunately, we haven't received any reliable, proper confirmation that she's okay." We don't want to bother Selima. We just need her to contact us and make herself known, not for publication. So far, she hasn't done that. We've had some suspicious individuals contact us, claiming she's fine, that you're annoying her, and to leave her alone. But she herself did not contact us,” Neroznikova also said.

She believes that the evidence provided by the Chechen authorities cannot be trusted due to previous experience.

"How can we trust anyone, for example, after the case of the mass shooting of 27 people in a building on Kadyrov's regiment's territory, who, according to official statements, allegedly went to Syria? The Chechen authorities can even cover up a mass murder. And the girls could be under pressure. All this depends on how freely they express their opinions now, how well they speak to us without threats. The authorities are masters at fabricating facts and masters at covering up even mass murders. Personally, I find this especially sad, because Chechnya suffered greatly during the war with Russia, experienced such grief, and there were so many mass murders of Chechens, which were also covered up," Neroznikova lamented.

She knows of cases where girls forcibly returned to Chechnya after escaping have turned up alive.

"Yes, of course, such cases exist. Girls who leave home often change their minds and return on their own. There are very different situations. In particular, Khalimat Taramova, as far as we know, is alive and well, lives in Grozny, and is said to work as a cosmetologist," Neroznikova noted.

Suleymanova's friend sparked the demand for an investigation

Saida Sirazhudinova, President of the Center for the Study of Global Contemporary Issues and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development," reported that her friend played a significant role in the publicity surrounding the kidnapping and murder of Seda Suleymanova.

"She wouldn't let this matter be closed." He was constantly in the public eye, forcing at least a formal response. Ismailova's situation is different. There's no targeted campaign, no pickets, no appeals. There's no trusted, close person who would take action," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

And although human rights activists write and talk about Ismailova's case, it's lost in the mass of reports of violence.

"There's no personal pressure that allowed Seda's case to advance. Although, even in that case, we see quite strong resistance. Both Lena's activism and courage are noteworthy," Sirazhudinova explained.

In her opinion, people are already frightened by the evidence provided by the Chechen authorities.

"In the most horrific cases (I'm referring to Seda's case), after the evidence is presented, the person disappears. A similar encounter with Selima naturally raises suspicions. "They are entirely justified. We need to mobilize society to at least force them to provide evidence. New evidence that she is alive. Otherwise, people doubt it," Sirazhudinova believes.

For a girl, running away is often a last resort to save her life. It exacerbates the threats, and her life is at risk. But not every family is willing to kill.

Not all forced returns after escape end in tragedy, she emphasized.

"We simply don't know about many cases, and families try to keep them quiet. How many women, including adults, have left for Europe. And they live there. How many men are looking for ways to leave. The diasporas around the world are simply enormous. For a girl, running away is often a last resort to save her life. It exacerbates the threats, and her life is at risk. But not every family is willing to kill. Some tighten the conditions. Some try to negotiate. And some simply kill. Much depends on the motive for the escape, what the people around them know, and how close the emotional ties are in the family. How much of a family it is, where you'll be supported and not subjected to violence. Such families exist, and people don't run away from such families because there is real support, encouragement, and love there," Sirazhudinova concluded.

Human rights activists emphasize the need to search for Ismailova

Chairwoman of the Civic Assistance Committee* Svetlana Gannushkina*, in turn, believes that Selima Ismailova's story is a better one than Seda Suleimanova's tragedy.

"But none of us can guarantee (that Selima is 100% alive), and the fact that the authorities there are willing to mislead the community and withhold information is, unfortunately, commonplace," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the human rights activist, evidence provided by Chechen authorities, including videos, often turns out to be fiction.

"Not If it's the same with this one, it's the same with the others. Remember the guy who was supposedly fine, somewhere abroad. But it turned out that couldn't be true. He had a bottle of water standing where he was supposedly, which wasn't there. "So there is no trust," Gannushkina* pointed out.

She also believes that there is a need to put Ismailova on the wanted list as missing. missing...

"When someone disappears like this, a murder case is always opened. But that's the worst-case scenario," Gannushkina* noted.

In her practice, there have been cases where girls returned safely to their families after running away.

"We had a girl living with us. Her parents turned out to be generally normal people, but the girl herself wasn't quite well, mentally. But when she returned home, she was treated well. She wrote to me for a while, saying she was doing well. I asked, 'Are you happy?' and she wrote, 'Yes, I'm among those who love me.' "I've spoken to my father and aunt several times because she needs to see a psychiatrist," Gannushkina* said.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.