Chechen Woman Missing in Yerevan: The Insider

Aishat Baymuradova, who previously fled Chechnya with the help of a human rights protection organization, has gone missing in Yerevan. This was reported on Twitter by Daniil Chebikin, co-founder of the Omsk Civil Association.

The activist, who also lives in Yerevan, learned about Baymuradova's disappearance from friends living in the same apartment. According to The Insider, they stated that on October 15, Aishat met with a friend she had connected with through Instagram and has not returned since. The girl's phone is unresponsive. Aishat’s friends have contacted the police, fearing she may have been abducted.

It's important to note that women from the North Caucasus republics often face persecution in other regions of Russia or neighboring countries after fleeing domestic violence or forced marriage prospects. One of the most notorious cases was the abduction of Chechen woman Seda Suleymanova, who was kidnapped in Saint Petersburg in 2023 and forcibly taken to Chechnya. Since then, nothing has been heard of her; friends and human rights defenders believe that Seda has been killed by her relatives.