Patyaeva faced the threat of arrest after the picket in Grozny.
Chechen security forces drew up a protocol against Lena Patyaeva for repeated violations of public event rules, threatening her with up to 30 days of arrest or a large fine. The single picket that Patyaeva held demanding an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova does not require approval, the activist and her lawyer reminded.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", Chechen security forces detained Seda Suleymanova's friend Lena Patyaeva, who went out in Grozny for a single picket demanding an investigation into Suleymanova's murder.
Born in Chechnya, Seda Suleymanova was detained in St. Petersburg in August 2023 and taken against her will to relatives in Chechnya. Since then, there have been no messages from her. Her friends and human rights activists fear that she has become a victim of so-called "honor killing", according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Abduction of Seda Suleymanova".
A protocol was drawn up against Lena Patyaeva in Grozny for the picket dedicated to the murder of Seda Suleymanova. Lena was released, but she faces arrest or a large fine.
After her detention, Lena spent three hours in police custody: according to her, for most of that time, the security forces were waiting for orders from their superiors and were ultimately pleased that protocols had already been drawn up against Lena for pickets:
"I understood that they were happy that they could definitely charge me with something. That it would already be a repeated violation. The protocol states that I did not coordinate the picket with the local administration," the project "Word for Defense" quotes her words.
As a result, the girl was released, but she faces court proceedings.
As noted by Lena Patyaeva's accompanying lawyer Natalia Tikhonova, the protocol was drawn up for repeated violations of public event rules (part 8 of article 20.2 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation).
"Lena is charged with the picket in the Journalists' Square in Grozny, where she went out in full compliance with the law: it does not require approval for single pickets, so Lena did not violate any law. However, of course, she was still taken away, brought to the department, and a protocol was drawn up. At the same time, I was allowed to see her almost immediately. We do not know what will happen to the drawn-up material, nor do we know when exactly the court session will be (presumably tomorrow, but we have not received any summons). The charge against Lena carries a penalty of up to 30 days of administrative arrest, and the fine is very large – from 150,000 to 300,000 rubles. Such a decision will certainly be appealed," her words are quoted in the publication.
On November 27, 2025, the Krasnoselsky District Court of St. Petersburg considered Elena Patyaeva's single picket a repeated violation of public event rules and sentenced her to 10 days of arrest. Patyaeva reported that police tried to see "signs of extremism" in the text of her poster.
Patyaeva noted that for the first time she wrote on the poster that she demands an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova. "I no longer believe that Seda can be alive because too much time has passed," Patyaeva said in a video attached to the publication.
According to her, there is nothing new in the investigation into Suleymanova's case – it is being extended, it is not closed, but there are no developments.
Lena Patyaeva is a friend of Seda Suleymanova and the organizer of the campaign demanding an investigation into her disappearance. Security forces have repeatedly detained her for public actions related to Suleymanova's case: for example, in August 2025, the activist stood for four hours in a single picket at the Akhmat Kadyrov Bridge, after which she was taken to the police department, and in April, for a picket at the same bridge, Patyaeva received 20 hours of community service.
In March 2025, Lena Patyaeva held a picket in Grozny, where she was also taken to the police, but released without a protocol. At the same time, Grozny security forces called Suleymanova's fate a "family matter".
In April 2024, it became known that the Investigative Committee is investigating the disappearance of Seda Suleymanova under the article on murder. In January 2025, Patyaeva complained to the Prosecutor General's Office about the inaction of the investigation, stating that for 10 months the investigation had yielded no results. On June 16, 2025, it became known that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia announced Seda Suleymanova wanted. The appearance of a wanted card in the Ministry of Internal Affairs database indicates rather an imitation of activity, human rights activists pointed out.