Front Line is concerned following information received regarding threats against Russian human rights defender of Chechen origin, Ms Malika Zubajraeva. During the second Russian-Chechen war Malika Zubajraeva, as well as her sister Petimat Zubajraeva and her mother Maryam Zubajraeva, was an active anti-war campaigner in the Chechen Republic. She also cooperated with the Caucasian bureau of the former Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and helped to collect information for the coordinator for the Caucasus region of the Moscow Helsinki group.

Further Information

Malika Zubajraeva began to openly denounce the use of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment within the Russian penitentiary system after learning that her brother Zubajr Zubajraev, currently detained in penitentiary colony ЯР-154/15 (also known as LIU-125 prison hospital) in Volgograd, Southern Russia, is constantly subjected to torture.

On 10 February 2009, Malika Zubajraeva participated in a press conference in the Moscow Independent Press Centre regarding particularly harsh conditions of detention for detainees of Chechen and Ingush origins in Russian prisons. On 11 February, on the train from Moscow to Grozny she and her sister Petimat Zubajraeva were approached by an individual who said he was named Majr-Ali Abijaev and that he was 'from president Kadyrov’s immediate entourage'. Majr-Ali Abijaev demonstrated that the Zubajraev family was under surveillance and for several hours threatened that they would be killed if they continued their public actions, telling them that if they did not stop these actions they would be raped before their brother’s eyes, and that Zubajr Zubajraev would then certainly die from a heart attack.

Malika Zubajraeva managed to contact some human rights organisations and, once the train arrived in Grozny, Majr-Ali Abijaev was arrested. However, the Zubajraev family decided not to file a complaint out of fear for Zubajr Zubajraev's security. Malika Zubajraeva and her family still continue to receive serious threats, some of which have reportedly been made by a Federal Security Service (FSB) agent who lives in their neighbourhood.

After Malika Zubajraeva first began to inform human rights organisations that her brother was being tortured during his detention, both she and her family began to receive threats. Because of this Front Line believes that the threats against Malika Zubajraev and her family are linked to her legitimate work in the defence of human rights, in particular her work to denounce the use of torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment within the Russian penitentiary system.

Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Malika Zubajraeva.