Zarema Bagavutdinova

Zarema Bagavutdinova has been working at the Buynaksk branch of the Dagestani human rights organisation "Pravozaschita" since 2010, where she collected data on the fabrication of criminal cases, as well as detentions, torture and kidnappings. In May 2013, she actively provided the media and human rights organisations with information about law enforcement officers' violations during the counter-terrorist operation declared after the armed attack on Interior Ministry officers in the city of Buynaksk on 30 April 2013. In July 2013, she was detained on suspicion of complicity in the attack. Despite the lack of witnesses and evidence of guilt, the court kept the human rights defender in custody and then extended her arrest several times. At the same time, the essence of the charges changed dramatically several times during the investigation. In May 2014, the court found Bagavutdinova guilty of inducing a person to participate in an illegal armed group and sentenced her to five years in prison. In August, the court of second instance left the verdict unchanged.

Bagavutdinova was released in early July 2018.