‘She didn’t end up there by chance’ Chechen woman who reportedly fled domestic violence in Russia found dead in Armenia
A missing Chechen woman who reportedly fled domestic violence in Russia has been found dead in Yerevan. According to Armenian police, the body of Aishat Baimuradova, 23, was found in a rented apartment on October 19. A preliminary investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death is reportedly underway.
Baimuradova was first reported missing last Friday by Russian activist Daniil Chebykin. According to Chebykin, an Armenia-based activist, Baimuradova had been living with friends in Yerevan. She was last seen on October 15, when she left home to meet a woman she’d connected with over Instagram.
Baimuradova’s roommates raised the alarm over her disappearance after she stopped answering her phone and failed to come home. Chebykin said in a Telegram post that they also filed a police report. He added that the woman Baimuradova met with had people close to the Chechen authorities among her Instagram followers.
According to Chebykin, Baimuradova fled Chechnya with assistance from a human rights group supporting women in the Russian North Caucasus. Following her disappearance, activists were initially concerned that she had been forcibly returned to Russia. According to various media reports, Baimuradova left Chechnya to escape family abuse. A source told RFE/RL’s North Caucasus Service that Baimuradova “ran away from home due to domestic violence and disagreements within [her] family.” However, the exact circumstances surrounding her departure remain unconfirmed.
According to The Insider, Baimuradova’s friends rejected the possibility that she may have died by suicide. “[Aishat] went out with a friend. As far as I understand, it was a setup. She met a Chechen woman on Instagram, and that woman asked her out. After that, she stopped answering her phone,” one source said. This person also claimed that police found Baimuradova’s body in the apartment, which the owners had rented to the woman she met via Instagram. “[Aishat] didn’t end up there by chance, that’s 100-percent certain,” the source said.
Human rights activist Lidia Mikhalchenko, who was in touch with Baimuradova prior to her death, told the investigative outlet Agentstvo that she may have been strangled. Mikhalchenko also claimed that a security camera captured two unidentified suspects outside the building where Baimuradova’s body was found, and the suspects are believed to have fled to Russia. However, Mikhalchenko later clarified that this information is unconfirmed.
Armenian officials have not disclosed a cause of death. According to local media, the police have ordered an autopsy and are investigating Baimuradova’s death as a murder.
