Chechen officials blame human rights activists for murder of Aishat Baymuradova, claiming they seek to “discredit” Chechnya

Officials in Chechnya have made their first public statement regarding the killing of Aishat Baymuradova, a young woman who fled the Ramzan Kadyrov-controlled republic for Armenia and was found dead in an apartment in Yerevan earlier this week.

Without presenting evidence, Chechnya’s human rights commissioner Mansur Soltayev claimed in a Telegram post that “so-called crisis centers and pseudo-human rights activists” may have been involved in her death:

“According to the information we have, all traces of these incidents may lead to crisis centers that actively operate across the North Caucasus and the Russian Federation as a whole,” Soltayev wrote. “Psychologists from these organizations work specifically in the North Caucasus region and target women, especially those who are psychologically vulnerable and weak. They promise them 'mountains of gold' in the West and take them abroad under various pretexts.”

Soltayev alleged that the goal of these human rights groups is to “create an illusion of widespread domestic violence in the North Caucasus.” He accused NGOs of “discrediting spiritual and family values” and “undermining the traditional foundations of society in the Caucasus.”

This is not the first time Soltayev has issued unsubstantiated statements. In 2024, he posted a video of Chechen woman Seda Suleymanova, who had been forcibly returned to Chechnya after fleeing domestic abuse. At the time, he wrote that she was “fine” and that her rights were “not being violated.” Suleymanova has not been seen since.

A criminal case was later opened into Suleymanova’s disappearance, with rights activists and friends believing she was killed soon after Soltayev’s visit and video appearance.

Baymuradova was reported missing in Yerevan on Oct. 15. She had gone to visit a friend and stopped answering calls and messages shortly afterward. A few days later, her body was discovered in an apartment on Demirchyan Street.

It later emerged that before her death, Baymuradova was headed to meet Karina Iminova, whose social media followers include individuals linked to the entourage of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. According to the rights group NC SOS (North Caucasus SOS), Iminova is a key witness in the case. After Baymuradova’s disappearance, Iminova stopped responding to messages and, according to activists, has since left Armenia.

Baymuradova fled Chechnya with help from a human rights organization that assists women escaping violence in the North Caucasus. While the exact reasons for her departure have not been disclosed, such escapes are often linked to domestic abuse, threats of so-called “honor killings,” or persecution over alleged ties to the LGBTQ+ community. Rights activists say that even abroad, women from Chechnya can face mortal danger if their location becomes known to relatives or Chechen authorities.