Photo from ulysmedia.kz
The Supreme Court of Kazakhstan has suspended the decision to extradite Chechen activist Mansur Movlayev to Russia. He will remain in custody for another month, the court’s press service told Kursiv.
A day earlier, the UN Human Rights Committee registered Movlayev’s complaint and called on Kazakhstan to refrain from extraditing him while the complaint is under consideration.
Mansur Movlayev is known for his sharp criticism of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and for speaking out against human rights violations and political repression in the republic.
In 2020, the activist was sentenced to three years in prison under Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal drug trafficking). According to Chechen opposition figures, the case was fabricated.
In 2022, Movlayev was released on parole but was soon abducted and taken to a district police department in Chechnya. He managed to escape and, without documents, reached Kyrgyzstan. Russia subsequently placed him on the federal wanted list on charges of financing extremism.
In Kyrgyzstan, Movlayev served a prison term for illegal border crossing and was ordered deported, but he managed to leave the country independently.
In May 2025, the activist was detained in Kazakhstan at Russia’s request. He was initially arrested for 40 days, and the detention period was later extended multiple times. In December, Kazakh authorities denied him refugee status, and a month later the Prosecutor General’s Office approved his extradition to Russia.
