She focuses on "document[ing] the practice of forced labour in the cotton industry.
"[2] According to the BBC, "Urlaeva's persistent work contributed to an international campaign which ultimately led major global brands to join a boycott of Uzbek cotton.
[3] Human Rights Watch reported that "Police and doctors forcibly sedated Elena Urlaeva and then subjected her to a body cavity search, x-rays, and other abuse.
"[3] The Solidarity Center reported that Urlaeva was "detained against her will in a psychiatric hospital in Tashkent" in May 2016,[4] "for more than a month".
[5] On March 1, 2017, according to Anti-Slavery International, Urlaeva was "arrested [...], beaten by Uzbekistan police and detained in a psychiatric prison on forced medical treatment.