Akhmedova's Defense: Guardianship Aiding Investigation in Parental Rights Case

A preliminary court hearing was held at the Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok on a petition from the guardianship authorities of Nadezhdinsky District, Primorsky Krai, to restrict the parental rights of activist Margarita Akhmedova, who «kidnapped» her own daughter. This was reported to VLADIVOSTOK1.RU by Akhmedova herself and her lawyer Maxim Chikhunov.

According to Akhmedova, neither the guardianship, nor the prosecutor«s office, nor the Investigative Committee attended the hearing. The judge read out data from the petition, and the defense side commented on it, but due to the absence of the plaintiffs, the case did not progress, and the next hearing will be held only on March 10.

«At the hearing, there were me, my father, and relatives who have taken temporary guardianship of my daughter. At the next hearing, I think the guardianship authorities of Pervomaisky District and the prosecutor»s office will come, but nothing good or bad happened,« Akhmedova said.

The activist clarified that they want to restrict her parental rights due to her allegedly obstructing the investigation into her former cohabitant, who is accused of sexually violent acts against her daughter. However, according to Akhmedova, the investigation into the man was completed in February 2025, and she does not understand which investigation she could be obstructing.

«They covered themselves and issued a new document saying that I and the child are being separated based on a judicial investigation, not an investigative one, but that too was supposed to end in February of this year, and the hearing was moved to March,» Akhmedova said.

Also, according to Margarita, the guardianship authorities believe that her house in Nadezhdinsky District lacks conditions suitable for a child«s comfortable life, but Maxim Chikhunov stated that specialists did not conduct appropriate checks and the guardianship is acting in the interests of the investigation.

«They didn»t do any examination of living conditions, nothing, just wrote that Margarita lives poorly. They lumped everything together, indicated that once three years ago the child injured her arm. I got the impression that the petition is inflated, with no specifics,« the lawyer clarified.

According to him, Margarita has been employed since 2021 and has a steady income, and her daughter has many certificates and awards for academic success.

«Margarita visits her daughter 4–5 times a week, sleeps over with her, they spend time together constantly, attend theater performances. The mother takes care of the child, she has a higher education. Why restrict her? Only because she once had a cohabitant who is accused of committing indecent acts against the child? And what does Margarita have to do with it? Immediately after this situation, Margarita lost contact with him, they don»t communicate, and she doesn«t write to him,» the lawyer wonders.

Also, Maxim Chikhunov clarified that for the hearing on March 10, in addition to employees of the Nadezhdinsky District guardianship, the Vladivostok guardianship will be summoned.

Margarita Akhmedova became the heroine of a high-profile story on October 6. She kidnapped her daughter from a rehabilitation center in Artyom, and later published a video in which she claimed that her child was being held in the institution illegally. When the video appeared online, the Investigative Committee stated that the 7-year-old girl was placed in the rehabilitation center because her stepfather committed sexually violent acts against her and it was the mother who initiated sending her daughter to the boarding school.

Meanwhile, the department noted that the woman had previously lost parental rights, she has two older children over whom she does not have guardianship, and Margarita was also accused of obstructing investigative actions. People who know Margarita believed that she is being deliberately pressured through her child due to her active civic stance. Her like-minded person Elina Davydova said that the woman was among Primorsky residents who spoke out against the construction of a waste sorting landfill in Nadezhdinsky District. Municipal Duma deputy Oleg Grigoryev clarified that the mother of the missing girl often interacted with him, demanded the resignation of the head of Nadezhdinsky District, and in general fought for the rights of the population.

Read the full analysis of the high-profile story by the link, all materials on the topic can be read in a special feature. Also, a VLADIVOSTOK1.RU correspondent conducted a lengthy interview with the activist.