‘Who gave you my number?’
A missing woman from Chechnya may have been the victim of an ‘honour killing’. Her father told Novaya Europe that she ‘left the country’
In late April, the independent North Caucasus-focused media outlet Freedom's Around The Corner received a tip that a 25-year-old woman had been brutally killed in the Chechen village of Kurchaloi, in what the source described as a possible “honour killing”.
Novaya Gazeta Europe partnered with Freedom's Around The Corner to identify the victim as Zukhra Muzaeva, a mother of three. Reporters also made contact with her suspected killer.
Zukhra Muzaeva was 16 years old when she married Yakub Magomadov, a man six years her senior, in an arranged marriage. At 17, she gave birth to twin girls, Albina and Aidima, and later had a third daughter, Aminat. She also ran a small business selling makeup products on Instagram. At the time of her disappearance, her husband was serving in Russia's war against Ukraine, and her father, Samradi Muzaev, is also a soldier.
Three independent sources told Novaya Europe and Freedom's Around The Corner that Zukhra was murdered by her father. One source familiar with the situation told Freedom’s Around The Corner that Samradi Muzaev shaved his daughter’s head, forced her to dig her own grave, and then shot her. Two other sources told Novaya Europe that the murder may have been a so-called “honour killing”.
One possible motive cited was Muzaev's suspicion that his daughter had been unfaithful to her husband. At the same time, the source who spoke to Freedom’s Around The Corner said that Yakub Magomadov was upset that the killing had taken place without his knowledge.
Reporters called Samradi Muzaev directly. He initially insisted his daughter was “alive and well”, then claimed she had left the country.
The following is a transcript of that conversation.
Reporter: “We heard rumours that something had happened to Zukhra, and we wanted to find out from you whether that’s true.”
Muzaev: “None of it’s true. Everything’s fine.”
Reporter: “Really? People in the village are saying that she’s dead.”
Muzaev: “People say all kinds of shit. Who gave you my number?”
Reporter: “What’s happening with her now?”
Muzaev: “Nothing. She’s alive and well.”
Reporter: “Where is she? Is there a way we can contact her?”
Muzaev: “Fuck off.”
Reporter: “Why are people saying that you killed your daughter?”
Muzaev: “Who said she was ‘killed’? She left.”
Reporter: “Where did she go?”
Muzaev: “She fucked off to another country. Who said she was killed?”
Reporter: “Where did she go?”
Muzaev: “I don’t know. If you call me again… Where are you right now? I said go fuck yourself, you understand?”
Muzaev did not pick up subsequent calls.
Two acquaintances of Zukhra said they haven’t heard from her since April. According to them, her relatives haven’t explained where she is or what happened to her.
Novaya Gazeta Europe and Freedom's Around The Corner are calling on law enforcement authorities to investigate the disappearance and suspected murder of Zukhra Muzaeva, to establish her whereabouts, and to take legal action against anyone found to have been involved in her disappearance or death.
So-called “honour killings” in the North Caucasus are acts of violence committed against women accused by family members of behaviour deemed to bring shame on the family. Human rights advocates say that such crimes are often covered up: families and local communities suppress the circumstances of victims' deaths or disappearances, and the women themselves are often subjected to threats, pressure, and violence beforehand.
One of the most prominent cases in recent years was the disappearance of Seda Suleymanova. In 2023, Seda had fled her relatives in Chechnya and was living in St. Petersburg when she was detained by security forces and forcibly returned to the republic, after which all contact with her was lost. Human rights organisation SK SOS has reported that she may have been killed by her family. A criminal investigation into her disappearance has since been opened.