Soltayev's actions after Baimuradova's murder became part of a campaign to intimidate potential fugitives.

The Chechen authorities are failing to investigate the death of Aishat Baimuradova and have used her murder to intimidate potential fugitives from Chechnya and discredit human rights defenders. The actions of Mansur Soltayev, who has become the face of this campaign, are aimed at deflecting responsibility from the Chechen authorities, human rights defenders believe.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," 23-year-old Aishat Baimuradova, a native of Chechnya who fled domestic violence to Armenia with the help of human rights defenders, failed to return from a walk on October 15 when she went to meet a friend. On October 17, police issued a search warrant for Baimuradova, and on October 19, Aishat was found dead in a rented apartment on Demirchyan Street in Yerevan. Baimuradova fled to Armenia to escape domestic violence, but at the same time, publicly criticized Kadyrov's regime, a human rights activist said.

If the Chechen authorities begin an objective investigation into Aishat's murder, they will be the ones to blame, believes Aida Mirmaksumova, head of the "Fathers and Daughters" project.

"I think that for the Chechen authorities, everything is quite obvious, and, strictly speaking, there is no investigation and there won't be one, because everyone there knows perfectly well how Aishat's murder occurred. They're not going to investigate a case against themselves, are they?" "And all these public statements are precisely to shift the blame onto other people," she told the Caucasian Knot.

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According to her, such statements from the Chechen ombudsman intimidate potential fugitives who are victims of domestic violence and want to change their lives—"those who would like to escape, have once planned to escape, or are thinking about it." "There's a campaign going on against human rights defenders who, outside of Chechnya, are already struggling to provide any assistance to those in need, especially given that the Chechen authorities are doing nothing to help victims of domestic violence. Everyone is trying to remain silent, either hush it up, or throw a spanner in the works. And here's a case where they can, so to speak, kill two birds with one stone and deal with someone who, in their opinion, has disgraced the home, the people, the family, and at the same time blame the human rights defenders, dragging in some supposed West, which is against traditions and Chechen family values," she said.

Furthermore, such statements impact the safety of human rights defenders. "This is undoubtedly a planned campaign against human rights defenders, who are the only hope for those who have become victims of domestic violence. This puts them in a difficult situation. But it is unlikely that anyone will abandon their human rights activities. Despite all the efforts of the Chechen authorities, requests have not stopped; I must say, they continue, girls who need help are reaching out. I received requests from girls just a couple of days ago. So for those who really want, who need to escape, they understand everything perfectly well and everyone is running. And they still try to escape," she noted.

Aida Mirmaksumova believes that Soltayev should remember that he is, first and foremost, a human rights defender.

"Soltayev should not forget his direct responsibilities. After all, even though he is a government official, he is a human rights defender. I know that a girl named Anna recently contacted him; she is unable to pick up her two children. sons from her husband, who came to Chechnya and registered there. She can't see her sons. She turned to Soltayev for help, and he suddenly started disappearing. Therefore, I believe that Soltayev should not forget about his direct responsibilities either. And if he is asked for help - to return the children, then, of course, he should also pay maximum attention to this. Moreover, we are not talking about a Chechen family here, we are talking about a family that is, let's say, from another part of Russia. So, instead of blaming human rights activists for helping victims, Soltayev should finally learn to help other victims," she emphasized.

Head of the Civic Assistance Committee (included in the register of foreign agents) Svetlana Gannushkina (included in the register of foreign agents) notes that the accusations Soltaeva has no connection to real human rights activists.

"This doesn't apply to real human rights activists. There are a lot of scammers, some of whom pretend to represent law enforcement agencies or human rights activists. And real human rights activists can't be held accountable for the actions of scammers. But I want to say that Soltaeva would be better off fulfilling her direct responsibilities as a defender of rights. Instead of blaming those who tried to save the girl, let them conduct an investigation and honestly say who killed her. But blaming is easier than doing the work yourself," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her, Soltaeva's statements negatively affect the reputation of human rights activists.

"Such statements affect the safety of human rights activists, of whom there are already few left. Furthermore, it affects their credibility. People begin to seek corrupt solutions to their problems and don't trust the true defenders of their rights. But on top of that, the reputation and influence of the author of such statements is also damaged," she pointed out.

Soltayev's statements are not true, says activist and feminist Lena Patyaeva.

"This is complete nonsense. I can't know for sure whether Aishat had any conflict with any human rights workers. Perhaps there was some local conflict. But the fact is that she herself hasn't spoken publicly about this conflict. She has spoken publicly about other topics on her page, yet she says nothing about any conflict with human rights activists. This means that this conflict has either run its course and is simply an old story, or it was never that significant in the first place. I'm more than certain that if she truly had some important, significant conflict—not an old one, but a current one—she probably would have spoken about it herself if she wanted to. I'm in touch with several people who know her, and none of them say she had a terrible conflict with human rights activists. Therefore, Soltayev's accusation is nonsense. I think he's simply blowing mountains out of molehills. Moreover, the very fact that he's posting these recordings suggests that whoever killed her took possession of Aishat's phone and passed the materials on to him. That's how I see it," she told the "Caucasian Knot." Soltayev has long ceased to be a defender of human rights, she notes. Soltayev hasn't been an ombudsman for a long time. He holds this position only formally, but in reality, he's simply a talking head for the Kadyrov regime. "And whatever his name, he has exactly the same function as all the other Kadyrov officials. Therefore, his function does not include saving girls from domestic violence, as we see in the case of Seda and other girls. His function is to justify the Kadyrov regime in the media," she noted.

The publication of these audio recordings, in her opinion, is part of a campaign to intimidate other refugees and discredit mechanisms for helping victims of domestic violence.

"I think not only me, but many others have this thought: where did he get these audio recordings? Of course, it's scary when you think about the fact that they can kill you, and they will take possession of your phone and all your private conversations that you didn't want published. It's very disgusting, very cynical. Killing her wasn't enough for them. They also had to dig into her private life and publish messages that were not intended for public use that she sent to her friends or acquaintances. Therefore, yes, of course, this can work to intimidate,” she pointed out.

Soltayev’s true goals are to create a counter-narrative that absolves the Chechen authorities and his relatives of responsibility, Patyaeva believes.

“Not only did they kill a man, they also want to use this murder as an additional effect, to discredit human rights defenders with the murder. I don’t think they’ll seriously succeed, but they’re trying. Such statements don’t contribute to the safety of human rights defenders. I’m inclined to think that such statements from Soltayev don’t have much of an impact on the trust of potential clients, because they understand perfectly well who Soltayev is, and they’re unlikely to believe him,” the activist emphasized.

Soltayev hasn’t been involved in human rights activities for a long time, she agreed. human rights activist, familiar with the problems of women fleeing from the North Caucasus.

"Soltayev long ago ceased to be an independent ombudsman and has become a mouthpiece for the Kadyrov regime. Instead of protecting the rights of the victim and investigating her murder, he attacks those who tried to save her. This is a complete perversion of the duties of a human rights ombudsman. A real ombudsman should demand an investigation into Aishat's murder and the protection of other women from violence, not seek ways to whitewash the perpetrators," she told the Caucasian Knot.

In her opinion, this is part of a systematic campaign to intimidate refugee women and discredit assistance to victims of violence.

"The message is clear: 'If you run away, they will find you and kill you, and those who helped you will be blamed.'" This is an attempt to destroy trust between victims of violence and human rights activists, so that women are afraid to seek help. Soltayev's goal is to create a counternarrative that absolves the killers of responsibility. He's not interested in establishing the truth. He's more interested in spreading the myth that running away from family is "worse than death." And those who help them escape are also targeted," she pointed out.