Mansur Movlaev
The Supreme Court of Kazakhstan has decided to suspend the extradition of Chechen activist Mansur Movlaev to Russia, keeping him in custody for another month. This information was received by the editorial office of "Kursiv" from the court's press service. Recently, the UN Human Rights Committee registered a complaint filed by Movlaev and urged Kazakhstan not to carry out his extradition until this appeal is considered.
Mansur Movlaev became known for his sharp criticism of Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, as well as for his public speeches against human rights violations and political repression in the republic. In 2020, the activist was sentenced to three years for a crime related to illegal drug trafficking (Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Opposition figures from Chechnya claim that the charges against him were fabricated.
After being conditionally released in 2022, Movlaev was abducted and taken to a police station in Chechnya. He managed to escape and, without documents, made his way to Kyrgyzstan, after which Russia placed him on a federal wanted list for financing extremism.
In Kyrgyzstan, Movlaev served time for illegal border crossing, but he was later set to be deported from the country. However, he managed to leave Kyrgyzstan on his own.
In May 2025, the activist was detained in Kazakhstan at Russia's request. Initially, he was sentenced to 40 days of detention, but the detention period was repeatedly extended. In December of the same year, the Kazakh authorities denied Movlaev refugee status, and a month later, the country's Prosecutor General approved his extradition to Russia.
