More than 180 people supported human rights activists' call to return Baimuradova's body to her friends.

A petition by human rights activists calling for the return of the body of Ayshat Baimuradova, a Chechen woman killed in Yerevan, for burial by her friends has garnered over 180 signatures.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs insist on the return of the body of Ayshat Baimuradova, a native of Chechnya, killed in Yerevan, to her formal relatives to avoid future claims. At the same time, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan, expressed his readiness to assist human rights activists with the legal formalities of organizing the funeral.

As of 8:05 PM Moscow time today, the human rights activists' petition calling for the return of Baimuradova's body to her friends for burial had garnered 182 verified signatures on Change.org. The campaign organizers published a statement announcing Alen Simonyan's willingness to assist human rights defenders, but provided no further information on the Armenian authorities' response to the petition.

"The issue could have been resolved at the grassroots level long ago, but the situation has reached the point where the speaker of the country's parliament had to intervene. It's simply absurd," noted a Caucasian Knot reader with the nickname melodie_buckridge on February 3. He also expressed hope that "the intervention of the speaker of the Armenian parliament will finally help resolve the issue."

"Keeping the body of a murdered woman, clearly at the behest and with the assistance of the fugitive's relatives, believing that they will take the body for a proper burial, is simply naive. It's like expecting a murderer to come to the morgue to collect his victim's body. Yes, it's customary for Chechens to bury their relatives who died abroad at home. But that's not the case here. Firstly, the family of the murdered woman is, albeit distantly, related to Kadyrov. Secondly, virtually all of Baimuradova's relatives, including her ex-husband and his brother, were or are members of Kadyrov's security forces. Thirdly, the woman turned against not only her family but also the Chechen authorities, allowing herself to openly criticize the republic's leadership, and it seems she had no intention of stopping. That's why they dealt with her." "by hiring hitmen. The relatives' reluctance to collect and bury her, in accordance with Chechen traditions and Islamic norms, is not only the family's rejection of her, but also a demonstration of personal loyalty to Kadyrov. This is the accepted practice among them," the commentator stated.

Users exchanged opinions about whether the legal provisions used for burying unclaimed bodies of the deceased could be applied to Aishat Baimuradova. "Apparently, in Armenia, there is no restriction on relatives claiming a body and handing it over to friends under the pretext of the relatives' absence. This is what the legislator addressed. This is apparently a gap in the regulations," suggested Igor S.

“Baymuradova’s body has been claimed. But, according to the Armenian side, it wasn’t the people they wanted to hand it over to. That is, not her relatives, but some friends. And they’re still waiting for a reaction from her relatives, who, by and large, are to blame for her death, although it’s already clear that this wait is futile,” noted a reader with the nickname karrie.

"If there was a gap in any legislation, now the Armenian side has the opportunity to eliminate it by creating a precedent," said juliet.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Investigative Committee of Armenia officially confirmed the information provided by human rights activists on February 3 regarding the suspects in Aishat's murder. For the first time, the agency officially named the defendants in the case, noting that Russia ignored a request for assistance with the investigation. The Investigative Committee also noted that information about the suspects had been sent to Interpol.

A reader of the "Caucasian Knot" jeff.okon noted that Said-Khamzat Baysarov was named the nephew of billionaire Ruslan Baysarov, who is friends with Ramzan Kadyrov.

“It was with Baysarov’s funds that the Veduchi ski resort was built in the Ium-Kalinsky district of Chechnya, as well as the Sofia Celebration Palace, where people close to the Chechen leader usually hold weddings and organize large events (...) Putting Baysarov and Iminova on Interpol’s wanted list could complicate their lives, in that they won’t be able to travel abroad. However, in Chechnya, they can easily obtain documents under different names,” he wrote.

A reader with the nickname susan also suggested that Iminova and Baysarov would be provided with new documents. “The problem is easily solved – new documents under a different name. It’s quite simple if you have connections and money,” the commenter noted.

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