Laura Avtorkhanova. Photo: Marem

A Chechen woman who had fled to the Georgian capital Tbilisi and was briefly abducted there on Sunday in an attempt by relatives to take her back to Russia, is once again free and in a safe location, the Marem human rights group, which helps women in the North Caucasus region who have suffered from domestic violence, reported on Monday.

According to the Marem activists, Laura Avtorkhanova was abducted by a group made up of her sister and five other Chechens on Sunday. Avtorkhanova managed to send her live location to an employee at the shelter where she was staying, who went to the address accompanied by friends, where he was beaten up by the group attempting to kidnap her. He then alerted the police, Marem said.

Avtorkhanova subsequently informed Marem that she was on her way to a police station to make a statement that she was happy to leave Georgia and return to Russia of her own free will, which the group believed was an attempt by Avtorkhanova’s relatives to avoid problems at the Georgian-Russian border.

A lawyer and other supporters turned up at the police station, where Avtorkhanova told them that her relatives were not kidnapping her. She also asked the group to delete all its posts relating to her case, possibly under duress. However, Avtorkhanova ultimately left the police station for a safe destination, Marem said. It remains unclear where she and her relatives are now.

In Russia, Avtorkhanova had suffered domestic violence and escaped to Tbilisi to avoid it, the group stressed. She left her relatives a note, asking them not to look for her. However, her relatives ignored her plea and immediately set about looking for her in Georgia, while also sending both her and her friends threats.