Advocate and mother of blogger Djikaeva report about her stay at Grozny SIZO

Today, an advocate of North-Ossetian blogger Malika Djikaeva, sentenced to imprisonment for drug possession, has reported that an appeal against the verdict was lodged to the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya. The mother of the sentenced blogger got information about the pressure on her daughter at a SIZO (pre-trial prison).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 9, 2020, Malika Djikaeva, an Instagram blogger from North Ossetia, was detained in Grozny, and on December 11, a Grozny court sentenced her to three years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony. Malika Djikaeva pleaded not guilty to drug possession.

In late December 2020, an appeal against the verdict to Malika Djikaeva was lodged to the Supreme Court of Chechnya, advocate Inara Bedoeva has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.

At present, according to the advocate, Malika Djikaeva is being kept at a punishment cell of the Grozny SIZO. "In mid-December, I visited her at the SIZO. She looked satisfactory in appearance. Although, of course, we communicated under surveillance cameras, and, of course, my client could not tell me anything [about the pressure on her]," Inara Bedoeva said.

Today, Angela Kudzieva, the mother of Malika Djikaeva, has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that, according to her information, her daughter has been subjected to pressure at the Grozny SIZO. "I saw [her] on September 20 ... I was not allowed to visit Malika then, because she was being kept at the punishment cell, and on December 10, she was again at the punishment cell, and I could not visit her as well. We sent her money, but she did not get it, and we sent her a letter, but got no answer. So, that means Malika is being kept at the punishment cell," the mother of Malika Djikaeva said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 6, 2021 at 07:33 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.