Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan has promised to assist in transferring the body of Aishat Baimuradova, a Chechen native who was found murdered in Yerevan in late 2025, to human rights activists for burial.
Baimuradova was killed in October 2025 after reportedly meeting a friend who had social media followers with close ties to Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov. Since then, her body has remained in an Armenian morgue.
Simonyan’s comments were made on air on the Russian television channel Dozhd (TV Rain).
‘I am ready to help [the human rights activists working on Baimuradova’s case]. Let them get in touch, let them contact my office. It is very easy — just contact me, I will do everything possible’, Simonyan told journalists.
Simonyan also said that the country’s law enforcement agencies continue to search for those responsible for Baimuradova’s murder.
Humans rights activists had previously stated that the Armenian authorities are not releasing Baimuradova’s body to them for burial because this would contradict the country’s legal norms — current legislation requires the body to be handed over to relatives.
Elizaveta Chukharova
In this case, Baimuradova’s closest relative is considered to be her mother. However, Baimuradova was separated from her mother in childhood, and in practice there has been no contact between them. Human rights activists say the mother is either unable or unwilling to deal with organising the burial.
The right to receive the body could also belong to the deceased woman’s husband or father. However, according to people who knew Baimuradova, it was precisely from their violence that she had previously fled Chechnya. It is reported that official requests from the Armenian authorities to these relatives have gone unanswered.
In mid-January 2026, journalists from Dozhd gained access to the morgue where Baimuradova’s body is being kept and spoke with forensic experts. Reporters were shown photographs taken at the moment the body was discovered in the apartment. According to their accounts, the condition of the body is such that burial is possible only in a sealed zinc coffin.
After Baimuradova’s body was discovered, Armenian law enforcement agencies opened a criminal case. In his statement, Simonyan emphasised that efforts to find the killers are continuing, but he did not provide specific information about the progress of the investigation.
OC Media
According to preliminary investigative data, Chechen representatives, including individuals linked to the regional authorities, were involved in organising the killing. It is assumed that they left the territory of Armenia immediately after the crime was committed.
