Detained Ingush woman Aina Mankieva may be deported from Moscow

On the night of January 15, in Moscow, 21-year-old Aina Mankieva was detained. The young woman fled her home in Ingushetia back in April last year and had been hiding from relatives. In a video address, she asked not to be searched for and stated that she does not plan to return home, as «it could threaten her life, health, and safety.» More details on this story are in the MSK1.RU report.

«She asks to be called Anika, the name Aina is tied to that life»: what is known about the runaway

According to human rights activists, Aina is from a large, low-income family. In 2012, individuals with the same names as her parents were detained for attempting to sell another child in the city of Karabulak in Ingushetia, wrote «Rossiyskaya Gazeta». According to the publication, the child«s mother was an acquaintance of the family. The detained individuals, Khambor and Yakha Mankievy, stated that a two-year-old girl was left with them by a friend who then disappeared. They explained their intention to sell the child by their difficult financial situation after moving from Grozny.

What Aina did in Ingushetia is unknown. The MSK1.RU editorial office found only one video, published three years ago. In it, the girl, against a backdrop of shelves with knitted flowers, reads a poem in honor of International Teacher«s Day.

According to human rights activists, Aina Mankieva has been subjected to humiliation and beatings in her family since childhood: after one episode, she had to recover for eight months. In April 2025, the young woman decided to flee. At that time, local media reported on the search for her. In May, as human rights activists indicate, Aina recorded a video in which she stated that she did not intend to return home.

«I ask that you do not search for me or file a missing persons report. I also ask that you do not provide any information about me to my relatives. I do not plan to return home because it could threaten my life, health, and safety,» she said.

Her friend Lena told MSK1.RU that Mankieva was declared wanted in the republic under an article on theft: this happened after her departure. There were no grounds for detention, her friend is sure—Aina was convinced that she had been removed from the wanted list, so she decided to get a job.

«According to the organization that helped her escape, they were in contact with an Ingush investigator, and they had precise information from him that she was no longer wanted, that she had been taken off the wanted list back in May. So there was no obvious threat,» Lena told MSK1.RU.

According to her, due to a visual disability, Aina almost always needs assistance, but the young woman had already managed to adapt and got a job as a dishwasher in a cafe.

«She asks to be called Anika; the name Aina is tied to that life. I became friends with her when she moved to Moscow. It»s difficult for her to navigate new places; she has poor eyesight. She manages on her own, but she always needs some help. In recent months, she started to manage to live, more or less, a full life. She got a job; we went to an interview together, she got a health book for herself, started working, and even worked for a week as a dishwasher,« added the friend of the detained woman.

On the night of January 14, the detained woman tried to contact her friend. According to Lena, she saw six missed calls. But when she started calling back, she stopped responding.

«In voice messages, she said: »Lena, they«re taking me, I»m at the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs).« When we met, she was in a very stable state. You could see she was frightened, but she held up very well,» she told MSK1.RU.

«She lived in plenty, she had everything»: what the parents say

The young woman is still at the Svilblovo district police department. The MSK1.RU editorial office was unable to reach Aina«s father, Khambor Mankiev. In a conversation with »Ostorozhno Media,« he confirmed her disappearance and stated that law enforcement agencies are involved in the case.

«Criminal investigation. Everything is connected. They»ve been searching for a long time. She ran away from us a long time ago, already 6-7 months. We filed a missing persons report. <…> We are working, the authorities are working. Many people are working there, RVD (Regional Internal Affairs Directorate), MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), GUVd (Main Internal Affairs Directorate), FSB (Federal Security Service), prosecutor«s offices. So far, they don»t make a move without us; we will all be in the know. For now, wait, they say. They often call us, often come here, take photos, make videos. We«ll see what they do there. They say, sooner or later we will find her,» he noted.

At the same time, the father denies that he and his daughter had quarrels and does not know why she ran away. However, he believes that Aina was «recruited» by someone to «destroy the family.»

«She lived in plenty, she had everything. She ran away with someone, I don»t know. But the main thing is who recruited her, who did this, who prepared her, I want to find the criminal. This is how families are destroyed. Without a mother, without a father, without brothers, without a sister—no one will see happiness. I will find her at any cost,« declared the father.

Reaction

Members of the Russian Council on Human Rights have become involved in the case. One of them, Kirill Kabanov, stated that he has already contacted representatives of the GUVd of Moscow (Main Internal Affairs Directorate), who told him they are acting within the framework of a search initiated in Ingushetia.

«There are serious concerns that criminal-legal mechanisms are being used by MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) employees in Ingushetia to achieve their own goals, far from the laws of the Russian Federation. If this is so, then it is categorically unacceptable and needs thorough verification by the leadership of the MVD,» Kabanov wrote in his Telegram channel.

Human rights activist and member of the Council on Human Rights, Eva Merkacheva, in a conversation with MSK1.RU, added that law enforcement officers should conduct a check in the family based on the young woman«s reports.

«She has protection provided to her by the human rights organization »Marem.« There are suspicions that she will be handed over, since she was declared wanted,» Merkacheva told MSK1.RU. «The young woman says that violence was used against her at home. It is unsafe for her to be there; her life and health are threatened. Ideally, police should check everything she says, possibly even open a criminal case. We hope that we will act civilized in accordance with the law.»

At the police station, Aina has already filed a counter-statement about violence, including sexualized violence.

In 2023, 20-year-old Selima Ismailova was detained on suspicion of theft after fleeing Grozny. Later, the young woman was returned to Chechnya. We also reported the story of 19-year-old Chechen woman Lia Zaurbekova, whose relatives tried to forcibly take her from a police department.