Human rights activists have published correspondence with a relative of Aliya Ozdamirova.

The relatives whom Chechen native Aliya Ozdamirova confided in knew she would be in danger upon returning home, according to correspondence between Aliya's friend and her relative.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," 33-year-old Aliya Ozdamirova, who fled Chechnya due to threats from her family, was deceived or forcibly taken from Georgia to the republic on November 9. Her funeral took place on November 12. According to acquaintances, she may have been the victim of an "honor killing," human rights activists reported.

Aliya Ozdamirova's relatives living in Baku were aware that the girl would be in danger if she returned home, but they gained her trust and persuaded her to follow her instructions, according to correspondence published today by the SOS Crisis Group*.

Preparing to leave Georgia, Aliya Ozdamirova gave one of her friends the contact information of her cousin, the daughter of her uncle, Ali Asayev, who promised to send her to Dubai. She said they were both "trustworthy."

A friend, who had heard rumors of Aliya's disappearance, contacted her relative to find out her fate. The relative responded to the messages with hostility, claiming that Ozdamirova "has people closer than friends," namely, relatives. "So don't worry," she wrote.

Aliya's cousin also told her friend that she "returned home" on the morning of November 10th because she "realized she had chosen the wrong path" and, as a result, "chose her family." When asked directly whether Ozdamirova was alive, the relative responded evasively: "Until Allah takes us, we are all alive."

"Don't interfere in other people's lives, live your own (...) Don't worry anymore, she chose her family," she added.

A few hours later, Ozdamirova's friend sent her relative a post about Aliya's death. The relative didn't comment on the information itself, again advising Aliya's friend not to interfere. "Neither you nor they have anything better to do. Don't you have anything better to do?" "She has (people) closer to you, sleep peacefully," Ozdamirova's cousin concluded. Women whose behavior their relatives consider a disgrace to their family can become victims of "honor killings" in the Caucasus. These murders are committed by relatives themselves, most often a father or brother, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Honor Killings" in the North Caucasus." The problem of domestic violence in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan affects women of all ages, but it is primarily young women under 30 who try to escape it, human rights activists from the Ad Rem team noted in 2023. The problem of evacuating victims of domestic violence is particularly acute in these regions, as authorities and security forces there side with domestic abusers. For victims of domestic violence, escape often becomes the only option to save their lives. At the same time, women fleeing 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 exposing their hiding place.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.