"She is a hostage of a new kind," said Edi Isayev, a spokesman from the Moscow office of the Chechen administration appointed by the Kremlin. "She was part of the audience in the theatre just like everyone else but in spite of repeated protests we have not been able to get her out of custody."
Yakhar Niserkoyeva, 42, is older than the women suicide-bombers in the group of terrorists who seized the building nearly two weeks ago. She is a long-term resident of Moscow and has identity papers to prove it.
The fact that even Chechen officials who are linked to the Kremlin now find themselves powerless is a sign of the widening gulf between Russians and Chechens since the hostage drama.
"You couldn't find Chechens congregating in public in Moscow in the first few days after the siege. Most stayed at home," said Mr Isayev, who works for Akhmad Kadyrov, leader of the official Chechen administration, whom the guerrillas consider a puppet.
Increased police patrols routinely stop anyone "of Caucasian appearance". Mr Isayev cites cases of Chechens having their documents torn up by the police as well as attempts to plant things on them. They have to pay bribes to be set free.
Shamil Beno is one of the many Chechens who oppose both the Kadyrov administration and the armed resistance led by Aslan Maskhadov.
"The police arrested a 19-year-old relative of mine who came to Moscow after the siege was over. They took his internal passport and brought him to a police station," he said.
"Then they said they had found a packet of heroin tucked into the passport. Can you imagine a young Chechen who knows he's going to be stopped and searched at every street corner carrying heroin in his passport?" said Mr Beno, who served as foreign minister in the first government after Chechnya declared independence.
In Saratov, a city on the river Volga, his brother-in-law runs a small wallpaper factory. "Two days ago the police came in, searched his premises, and claimed they had found a grenade-launcher in a car in his yard." he said. "I'm leaving tonight to try to get him out. I have connections but what can other Chechens do?"
Despite the dozens of arrests, Dzhabril Gakkayev, the head of the Chechen cultural centre in Moscow, said the racial atmosphere in the capital was better than three years ago after a spate of apartment bombings killed more than 200 Muscovites.
Since the theatre siege Moscow's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, and President Vladimir Putin have called on Muscovites not to blame all Chechens for terrorism.