Authorities in Chechnya have made their first public statement regarding the murder of Aishat Baymuradova, who had fled to Armenia and was later found dead in an apartment in Yerevan.
Chechnya’s Human Rights Commissioner Mansur Soltaev posted on his Telegram channel that human rights activists might be involved in the young woman’s killing:
“According to the information we have, all traces of these incidents may lead directly to crisis centers actively operating in the North Caucasus and throughout the Russian Federation. The psychologists of these organizations deliberately work in the North Caucasus, targeting women — especially those who are psychologically vulnerable and weak. They promise them golden opportunities in the West and take them there under various pretexts.”
According to Soltaev, the goal of these human rights activists is to “create the illusion of widespread domestic violence in the North Caucasus.”
He claimed that NGOs “discredit spiritual and family values” and “undermine the traditional foundations of society in the Caucasus.”
In 2024, Mansur Soltaev published a video featuring Seda Suleymanova, a Chechen woman who had been forcibly returned to Chechnya after fleeing domestic violence. Soltaev wrote that she was “fine” and that her rights were not being violated. Since then, nothing has been heard about Suleymanova’s fate, and a criminal case has been opened into her disappearance. Human rights activists and friends believe that after Soltaev’s visit and the filming of the video, she was killed.
News of Aishat Baymuradova’s disappearance in Yerevan emerged on October 15. She had left home to visit a friend and soon stopped responding to calls and messages. Friends began searching for her, and several days later her body was found in an apartment on Demirchyan Street.
It was later reported that before her death, Aishat was heading to a meeting with Karina Iminova — whose social media followers include individuals connected to the Kadyrov regime. According to the human rights project SK SOS, Iminova is a key witness in the case. After Baymuradova’s disappearance, Karina stopped communicating, and activists say she has since left Armenia.
Aishat Baymuradova had left Chechnya with the help of a human rights organization that assists women from the North Caucasus.
Although specific reasons were not disclosed, women typically flee the republic to escape domestic violence, “honor killing” threats, or persecution for alleged LGBTQ+ affiliation.
Human rights groups warn that such women remain at risk even outside Russia, if their location becomes known to relatives or representatives of the Chechen authorities.
