Abubakar Yangulbaev asks Chechnya’s Kadyrov to be exchanged for his mother Zarema Musaeva, who spent last year under arrest

“Just like nothing influences terrorists, until they have gotten what they want, so does nothing influence Kadyrov,” Abubakar Yangulbaev says in a conversation with Novaya Gazeta Europe. The human rights defender recalls that the last time he has talked to his mother was a year ago, on the day of her kidnapping. He was on the phone with her at the moment law enforcement agents broke into her flat. In the last year, Abubakar was able to only exchange five letters with his mother, seeing as most of his letters were not delivered to her. He adds that he tried to exchange himself for his mother last spring, but nothing came of it. It could be that the local government decided to ignore his offer because it had not been made publicly. Another possible reason is that the investigator just did not let the higher officials know about Abubakar’s proposal. “My main goal is to save my mother, seeing as she is not guilty of anything at all: she hadn’t been doing any political or human rights work, she’s not guilty of what she’s been accused of. She should not be in a pre-trial detention centre at all, her health keeps getting worse. This is information confirmed by lawyers and a conclusion made by doctors. And now, I’ve just decided to speak publicly,” Yangulbaev says. He notes that since the start of the war some “people who had seemed to be Kadyrov’s critics started siding with him”. It was after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that the idea came to him to exchange himself for his mother. “This entire year, we tried to use media, public outcry, human rights defenders, politicians from different countries, journalists from different countries, but just like nothing influences terrorists, until they have gotten what they want, so does nothing influence Kadyrov,” the human rights defender states. He explains how the exchange will be organised if Kadyrov and his associates agree to it. “First of all, there has to be a guarantor country, an independent and neutral one. Usually, this role is played by a state or some influential association or community. For example, Turkey could be a good place for [the exchange]. Or Ukraine where POW swaps have already been taking place,” he concludes.