Baimuradova's death has brought attention to violence in Armenia.

Armenian authorities are still awaiting the relatives' consent to take Aishat Baimuradova's body for burial. Incidents involving Russian citizens of Chechen origin have forced Armenian law enforcement to respond quickly to threatening calls, human rights activists believe.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a petition calling for the return of Aishat Baimuradova's body was published on January 23 on the Change.org platform by the human rights organization "Crisis Group SK SOS"*. Human rights activists noted that the girl's partner, who lives in Yerevan, is seeking the right to bury Aishat, but by law, only the next of kin can dispose of the body. At the same time, representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs insist on the return of Baimuradova's body to her formal relatives to avoid future claims.

Armenian authorities continue to wait for the consent of Aishat Baimuradova's relatives to take the body of Aishat Baimuradova for burial, reported Ani Chatinyan, a lawyer for the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly.

"At the moment, we have no information that Aishat Baimuradova's body has been handed over to anyone for burial. Armenian authorities are waiting for Baimuradova's relatives to respond from Russia about whether they will take the body for burial. "Burial or not. Only after that will a decision be made whether the body will be handed over to friends or buried with the assistance of the government," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Regarding the statement by the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament 1 , she said that "issues related to Baimuradova are usually discussed with us, but at the moment there have been no discussions on this topic."

She believes that the arrest of suspects in the Baimuradova case is unlikely, since "the officially wanted suspects are not in Armenia."

"Naturally, when they cross the border and arrive in Armenia, their arrest will become possible, since there is a decision to search for and detain them. Another question is whether Armenia will request their extradition? "Although, there are rights and norms under international conventions guaranteeing the transfer of wanted citizens, and there is also the Agreement on Cooperation between CIS Countries in the Fight against Crime," the lawyer noted.

21:52 08.12.2025

Human rights activist reveals details of Baimuradova's death

A native of Chechnya, Ayshat Baimuradova, found dead in Yerevan, suffered a long and painful death, and her killers waited for her to die, said David Isteyev, director of the SK SOS* Crisis Group. Investigators have not yet officially announced the cause of her death.

Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, commenting on reports of Aishat Baimuradova's death, said that "according to some information we have, her death was indeed painful."

In his opinion, the fact that the Chechen girl's father, who had threatened her, was recently expelled from Armenia indicates that Chechen influence on Armenian law enforcement agencies is excluded."

"Following the incident with Aishat Baimuradova, Armenian law enforcement agencies drew the appropriate conclusions and began to promptly respond to calls or reports of threats. The man was not extradited, but rather escorted out as an undesirable person who had become a threat to legal security due to his illegal actions in Armenia. That is, no criminal case has been opened against him in the Russian Federation. He simply posed a threat to the legal security of someone currently in Armenia," Sakunts clarified. Public figure and journalist Anton Evstratov noted that "if we speak globally about public security as a social category, such incidents are isolated—there have only been two." In his opinion, it is premature to talk about a social danger. "Most likely, we need to talk about the adequate actions of the police and other law enforcement agencies. If in the first case they failed to prevent the tragedy, then in the second case they apparently succeeded, although we have little knowledge of what exactly happened: there is no court decision, no documents detailing the full extent of the situation, and we are basing our opinions on information in the media and from human rights activists, which may be insufficient and perhaps not objective." "In any case, at this point, I wouldn't talk about introducing any strict social measures," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Regarding "extradition and issues of the political and non-political nature of various persecutions," Evstratov noted that "they are often manipulative, and this is a huge field for all sorts of violations, which must be monitored."

Regarding the criminal case of Baimuradova's murder and the suspects who are outside Armenia, Anton Evstratov doubted that they would be extradited, "for political and technical reasons."

23-year-old Chechen native Aishat Baimuradova was found dead on October 19, 2025, in a rented apartment in Yerevan. She fled to Armenia to escape domestic violence, but at the same time publicly criticized Kadyrov's government. Human rights activists have not received the final results of the examination of Baimuradova's body. A request was sent to Russia regarding her burial, but no one was willing to take Baimuradova's body home within three months.

Baymuradova told human rights activists that she fled "from beatings." According to the girl, she was forced to leave her home because of violence from her husband, and she could not return to her parents' house because she was afraid of facing violence from her father. After leaving Russia, she arrived in Armenia.

Aishat Baimuradova's relatives live in the Gudermes region, and many of them, like the murdered woman's ex-husband, are connected to the security forces, wrote a Caucasian Knot reader with the nickname nerissa in a comment on January 30. "One of the reasons for the murder, as some observers believe, could have been that the girl not only led an 'incorrect' lifestyle from the point of view of her relatives, but also [...] dared to threaten her father with publicizing certain facts of his [behavior] and openly criticized the Chechen authorities. "Therefore, in addition to everything else, her murder can also be seen as a demonstration of her loved ones' loyalty to the republic's leadership," the reader pointed out.

Karina Iminova, whom Aishat had met before her death, and 30-year-old Chechen native Said-Khamzat Baysarov were seen near the house where Baimuradova's body was found. According to human rights activists, Karina Iminova lied to acquaintances about her past and purposefully met people who had left Chechnya. She herself is not a native of Chechnya, but had visited the republic. Iminova and Baysarov left Armenia for Russia immediately after Baimuradova's murder.

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