Human rights activists recount the story of Aishat Baimuradova's escape.

Aishat Baimuradova fled Chechnya due to beatings and death threats from her husband's family. Due to the lack of a passport, the elections were limited to visa-free countries. After her escape, Baimuradova said she was happy to live in a peaceful environment, free from threats.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the death of Chechen native Aishat Baimuradova is being investigated as a murder, but the results of the forensic examination are still unknown. Armenian investigative authorities have placed two suspects in the murder of Chechen native Ayshat Baimuradova on the wanted list; they have been arrested in absentia.

Aishat Baimuradova's story was told today by the "SK SOS Crisis Group"*.

Aishat's parents are divorced, and she was raised by her father from childhood. According to Aishat, she was separated from her mother immediately after birth and was forbidden to see her. Aishat complained not only of beatings but also of sexualized domestic violence that occurred when she was a child.

She was betrothed early: she tried to refuse, but relatives hinted that doing so would lead to rumors that she was a "womanizer." Aishat was forced to marry a 29-year-old man chosen by her relatives, whom she had seen three times in her life. Aishat didn't want children either, but she quickly became pregnant. "I wasn't ready for marriage, let alone a child. I cried all the time, unable to accept the fact that something alive was growing inside me," Aishat is quoted as saying.

Is his goal to kill me?

According to her, she was afraid to even get too attached to the child, as her love could be used by her husband as a weakness—that is, for blackmail. She had already faced threats from her husband, who threatened her with false accusations of infidelity that could have led to her murder.

"I have no idea why I'm being accused of this. Is his goal to kill me?" she says in the voicemail attached to this publication.

Furthermore, after the birth of their son, her husband began cheating. According to Aishat, she found photos and videos of other women on a flash drive left on the table, after which she called her husband and demanded a divorce. He promised to leave no trace of her unharmed, but Aishat still packed her things and went to her parents' house before her husband returned from work.

The girl recalled that her father was not happy about her return, and three days later, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law came for her, and her father returned her to her husband. After that, the beatings resumed and only became more severe: several times, her husband held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she didn't do as he said.

Only as an adult, after she got married, was Aishat able to learn her mother's name and find her. She began visiting her from time to time, but she understood that her mother would not be able to help or protect her.

Aishat was only able to evacuate on her second attempt.

Aishat's request to human rights activists was simple: she wanted to escape her husband and leave Chechnya. However, evacuation was only possible to visa-free countries, as Aishat only had an internal passport.

I hope he won't forget my face and how much I love him.

Aishat decided not to take her child with her. She explained that she herself had not yet adjusted to life and did not want to drag her son into this unknown.

"I am now completely sure that I will never allow anyone to hurt me, but back then I was forced to swallow all the dirt they poured on me. I want you to tell your son that I love him and always will love him, and my doors are always open to him. I left him because I didn't want to take him to nowhere. I hope he won't forget my face and how much I love him," Aishat wrote to her husband after her escape.

Aishat's evacuation was planned for the end of December. The day before the escape, it was canceled because Aishat had influential relatives, and the director of the SOS* Crisis Group decided that the security measures taken for this evacuation were insufficient, and the risks to Aishat herself and the people helping her were too great.

"The plan was reconstituted, and this time the evacuation took place at the end of January. Aishat didn't stay in Russia for a single day after her escape: she flew almost immediately to Armenia. Initially, she lived in another city, not Yerevan, and only later moved to the capital. In the future, Aishat wanted to help other girls and women in the North Caucasus. Shortly before her death, she told the coordinator that she planned to volunteer for a human rights organization and, in the future, she even dreamed of opening her own assistance center," the publication says.

After the evacuation, she felt safe. "It's changed dramatically. I can't describe it in words. It's really cool. Sometimes I worry a little, of course, about being found and all that, but the atmosphere is calm, where no one is threatening you," reads Aishat's message, attached to the publication.

Human rights activists noted that they had planned to apply for Aishat's passport in Armenia. "Yes, it takes longer than if it had been processed in Russia, but in Ayshat's case, we didn't want to risk leaving her in the country. However, one of the Armenian government agencies added a local registration to Ayshat's internal passport, invalidating the document. Thus, she was left in Armenia essentially undocumented, albeit with an internal (no longer valid) passport. There are two ways out of this situation: either go to Russia to get a new passport or apply for citizenship restoration from Armenia through the embassy. We advised Ayshat to choose the latter option and paid the consular fee. Ayshat didn't have time to restore her internal passport," the publication states.

Human rights activists noted that their clients receive clear instructions on what to do and what to avoid. "They can also seek help again at any time if their new location has become unsafe and their relatives or law enforcement continue to harass them. We cannot enforce these rules. We never force our clients to do anything: this is not only beyond our capabilities but also contrary to our ethics and values. These people literally ran away from home to gain freedom of choice and the opportunity to live the way they want. If their choice seems wrong to the organization, we have the right to express our opinion and make recommendations, but we cannot confiscate their phone, block their Instagram**, or forbid them from meeting with dubious people," the publication emphasizes.

Fugitives from the Caucasus find themselves in a vulnerable position in a foreign land due to intense nostalgia, which forces them to seek contact with people from the North Caucasus Federal District and creates the risk of their shelter being exposed. The Armenian side must take decisive steps to investigate the murder, human rights activists said.