By Elizaveta Chukharova
Journalists have established that Chechen woman Aishat Baymuradova, who was killed in Armenia in mid-October, was a relative of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Preliminary reports also suggest that she may have been poisoned.
Baymuradova, 23, was found dead in an apartment in central Yerevan. According to human rights activists from the NC SOS crisis group, her body was discovered near the entrance door. David Isteev, director of the crisis group, stated that she had “died painfully, slowly, and with difficulty,” and that the apartment “was covered in blood,” possibly because the poison had caused her to vomit blood. He added that “the killers sat and waited for her to die.”
Human rights activists reported that Baymuradova was related to Kadyrov, claiming that her grandmother was a first cousin of Kadyrov’s father, Akhmat Kadyrov, a source told Russian independent TV-channel Dozhd.
Activists said that Baymuradova had suffered abuse, including physical and sexual violence, from family members, including her father and grandfather. At the age of 17, she was married to a man she barely knew. Dozhd journalist Valeria Kirsanova reported that the husband was a shooting instructor named Alsolt Seliev, who, according to her information, trained Kadyrov’s military personnel.
Seliev reportedly regularly beat Baymuradova and forced her to perform sexual acts. He also installed surveillance cameras throughout the house. One of Baymuradova’s friends believes that he may have also laced her food with drugs, human rights activist Svetlana Anokhina told Dozhd.
