Human rights activists raised the required amount for a fugitive from Dagestan.

A young woman who fled Dagestan for Armenia needs 160 euros, human rights activists reported today, calling for help. The entire amount was raised in less than two hours.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, on the afternoon of February 26, the Crisis Group SK SOS (included in the register of foreign agents) and the human rights group Marem announced a fundraiser for a native of Dagestan, who was forced to change jobs and move out of her rented apartment due to safety concerns. The woman needs the money for a new phone and SIM card, temporary housing, and basic expenses (food and hygiene products) for two months, during which she will decide her next steps with human rights activists. On the second day, the Marem group closed its fundraiser, explaining that its goal was to raise half the required funds and that 73,000 rubles had already been raised, exceeding the 70,000 rubles needed.

The SK SOS crisis group (https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/421200) reported today that €160 remains to be raised to help Leyla, a girl who fled Dagestan after helping prevent her friend's kidnapping in Armenia.

"Together, we have already raised €590 for a month's accommodation, phone bill, and basic needs. Our colleagues from the Marem group have already completely covered the previous month. The fundraising must be completed within two days, and only €160 remains," the statement reads.

This statement was published at 3:10 PM Moscow time. As of 5:00 PM, according to the collection page, €150.38 had been collected for the phone bill, against a target of €150, €548.14 for rent, against a target of €450, and €61.38 for other expenses, against a target of €150. Therefore, the total collected amount is €759.90, fully covering the target of €750.

As a reminder, on February 10, the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that a foreign citizen called the police on the evening of February 7 and reported that her friend's father had arrived from abroad, threatened to kill his daughter, and had now kidnapped her. Law enforcement located the Chechen native and her father, who confirmed the death threats. The man, a Russian citizen of Chechen descent, has been deported and banned from entering Armenia. Armenian police stressed in a statement that they responded promptly to the complaint because of a previous "similar tragic incident in which the police were not informed of the persecution." Earlier, on October 19, 2025, 23-year-old Chechen native Ayshat Baimuradova was found dead in a rented apartment in Yerevan. She told human rights activists that she had fled "from beatings." According to her, she was forced to leave her home due to violence from her husband and was unable to return to her parents' home because she feared facing violence from her father. After leaving Russia, she came to Armenia.

Karina Iminova, whom Aishat had met before her death, and 30-year-old Chechen native Said-Khamzat Baisarov were seen near the house where Baimuradova's body was found. According to human rights activists, Karina Iminova lied to acquaintances about her past and purposefully met people who had left Chechnya. Although she is not originally from Chechnya, she had visited the republic. Iminova and Baysarov left Armenia for Russia immediately after Baimuradova's murder.

In February, the Investigative Committee of Armenia officially named the suspects in Aishat Baimuradova's murder for the first time. The agency confirmed that they were Karina Iminova and Said-Khamzat Baysarov, already named by human rights activists. A request for assistance with their case was sent to Interpol, but Russia ignored the request.

Female refugees from the North 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 asylum, human rights activists indicated in November 2025.

The problem of domestic violence in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya affects women of all ages, but it is primarily young women under 30 who seek to escape, human rights activists from the Ad Rem team noted in their report. The problem of evacuating victims of domestic violence is most acute in these regions, as authorities and security forces there side with domestic abusers. In June 2023, the BBC released a documentary, "When I Escaped," about girls from the North Caucasus who managed to escape the control of their families. For victims of domestic violence, escape often becomes the only chance to save their lives, human rights activists emphasized.