A Derbent resident was released from the "E" center after media coverage.

A Derbent resident, who was taken to Makhachkala by security forces and held for some time, has returned home, but his relatives have been strongly advised not to speak to journalists.

Relatives of 30-year-old Derbent resident Zukhrabov have been searching for him since late January. According to his family, security forces took him from his home early in the morning of January 28 and took him to Makhachkala. As of February 9, the man had been released and was able to return home, his family told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

"We found him, he's fine," Zukhrabov's mother told the "Caucasian Knot."

The woman noted that there was no longer any need to spread information about her son. "Thank you all, but we don't need anything else," she said.

A source familiar with Zukhrabov's family said he was released home after the interrogation. "He's at home with his family. They released him. I don't know if he signed anything, but the fact is he's at home. We don't know why or for what reason he was detained," a source told the "Caucasian Knot."

Magomed Magomedov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Chernovik newspaper, which the family turned to for assistance, confirmed that Zukhrabov's relatives refused to speak further with the media. "The story ended with neither his mother nor his wife wanting to talk about it; they shut down and said nothing," he noted.

A person with the last name Zukhrabov was not mentioned in the lists of officially detained or arrested citizens, said Shamil Khadulaev, head of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan. "There is and has never been such a person in the Makhachkala temporary detention facility. If he had been detained, he would have been on the list," he told the "Caucasian Knot."

Media publicity can help stop lawlessness against detainees, noted lawyer Patimat Abdulaeva. "In such situations, it is necessary to call the hotlines of all law enforcement agencies, raise awareness, involve a lawyer who knows how to quickly find the detainee and provide them with legal assistance, and also contact the media for publicity. Perhaps this helped in this case," she told the "Caucasian Knot."

According to her, security forces often prevent detainees from making the calls they are legally entitled to. "If a detainee is a suspect, the law gives them the right to make one phone call to their family or a lawyer. But law enforcement officials often resort to various tricks to prevent detainees from making phone calls and sharing their location or other information. They write in the report that the detainee behaved inappropriately in a public place, resisted police officers, or committed an administrative offense, and the court orders a detention for several days. During this time, they have time to prepare all the testimony, paperwork, and documents, and then a decision is made on the pretrial detention measure within the criminal case for which they were initially detained," she explained.

To avoid this, it's important to demand the right to make a phone call. "Every citizen has the right to make one phone call if detained. Everyone should know this and demand it, even if they tell you you don't have this right. Their job is to prevent the appearance of a lawyer who can competently defend you," she noted.