Civilnet
By Alexander Pracht
Aishat Baymuradova, a 23-year-old woman from Russia’s Chechnya region who had fled to Armenia to escape harassment from her family, was found dead in a Yerevan apartment, Armenian police reported on Monday.
Baymuradova’s friends said they reported her missing last Friday after she stopped responding to messages for several days.
Preliminary reports suggest Baymuradova may have been the victim of an “honor killing,” a form of murder in which relatives kill a family member, typically a woman, for actions they consider to have brought shame upon the family. The practice remains widespread in parts of the North Caucasus, particularly among Muslim communities.
Common triggers for such killings include refusal to enter a forced marriage, same-sex relationships, or perceived “immodest behavior.” Many victims flee their homes to escape strict family control, but such escapes are often seen as grounds for retribution. Families sometimes track down women across Russia and even abroad, using connections within law enforcement to locate them under the pretext of “bringing them home.” In many cases, those women are later killed.
This marks the first known case of a suspected honor killing occurring on Armenian territory. Armenian police have yet to issue additional information about the ongoing investigation.
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