The Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan has ordered the extradition of Mansur Movlayev to Russia.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan ordered the extradition of Chechen native Mansur Movlaev, stating that his defense has the right to appeal the decision. The court has not yet considered the appeal against the denial of refugee status for Movlaev, his lawyers stated.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in late December 2025, the asylum review commission in Kazakhstan denied Mansur Movlaev refugee status. This decision was appealed, and Movlaev's defense also submitted appeals to relevant UN bodies requesting that his extradition to Russia be suspended. The intervention of UN agencies in Mansur Movlaev's appeal does not guarantee his protection from extradition from Kazakhstan to Russia, but could still reduce the risk of his surrender to Chechen security forces, lawyers and human rights activists have stated.

The Kazakh Prosecutor General's Office has ordered the transfer of Mansur Movlaev to Russian security forces, his lawyers reported.

16:42 January 16, 2026

One ​​of Movlaev's Kazakhstani lawyers has been stripped of his license

A court in Kazakhstan has stripped Murat Adam, one of the defense attorneys for Chechen native Mansur Movlaev, of his lawyer status. Adam called the decision politically motivated and intends to appeal it.

"Today we received bad news from the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which decided to grant the extradition request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation for the Chechen opposition figure and activist Mansur Movlaev, who was denied refugee status by our country. We have now appealed the decision to deny Mansur Movlaev refugee status to the court, which has scheduled a preliminary hearing for February 11, 2026," reads a post on the social media pages of lawyer Elena Zhigalenok and Murat Adam, who was recently stripped of his lawyer's license.

The Instagram* public page free_mansour_movlaev posted a fragment of the document.

It states that Movlaev has the right to appeal this decision. The decision must be made within 10 days of receipt.

"To instruct the Committee on the Penitentiary System (KUIS - Caucasian Knot note) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan to organize the transfer of M.M. Movlaev to representatives of the competent authorities of the Russian Federation no later than 30 days from the entry into force of the decision on his extradition," the document states.

Why is Mansur Movlaev being persecuted?

08:07 13.02.2022

Online Opposition in Chechnya: How 1Adat* Works

In the absence of any opportunities for street protests in Chechnya, the opposition has long since retreated to social media and messaging apps. One of the most popular in recent years has been the Telegram channel 1Adat*. The "Caucasian Knot" fact sheet explains the channel's history, why Telegram, and the security measures its members must adhere to.

Movlaev was born in 1995 in Shali. He told his lawyers that while studying at university, he helped the Chechen opposition movement "Adat" (an organization designated as extremist and banned in Russia) with information about people abducted by Kadyrov's men. "He was concerned that people who disagreed with Ramzan Kadyrov's actions were constantly disappearing. Men in uniform were abducting men, all dissatisfied, for one wrong word. It was for this active stance that he was persecuted," Rena Kerimova recounted Movlaev's words to Kursiv Media.

As a reminder, in 2022, Movlaev was detained by security forces in Chechnya and held in an illegal prison. After escaping, he managed to reach Kyrgyzstan in January 2023. In August 2023, security forces in Kyrgyzstan detained Movlaev, who was wanted in Russia for financing extremist activity. On October 4, 2023, a court in Bishkek sentenced Movlaev to six months in prison and subsequent deportation from the country. On November 20, 2023, Movlaev was released, but the decision to deport him from the country remained in effect, and he voluntarily left Kyrgyzstan to avoid deportation to his homeland.

In October 2024, Mansur Movlaev reported the kidnapping of his relatives by security forces in Chechnya. "Two of my brothers, Zelimkhan and Khamzat, have been kidnapped. They are being held and tortured, in an attempt to put pressure on me," he said in a published video.

Caucasian Knot publishes materials about human rights violations in Chechnya, Kadyrov's attacks on the opposition, and his fight against dissent in the republic on the thematic page "Dissent in Chechnya".