Murtazov explained his escape by the impossibility of completing his contract.

Zelimkhan Murtazov went to the Northeastern Military District to protect his brothers, as Chechnya required that only one person from the family sign a contract. However, his three-year contract was extended without his consent, and attempts were made to coerce the other brothers into signing contracts as well. Murtazov has been in the transit zone of Astana Airport for over 45 days and hopes to be sent to a third country.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Chechen native Zelimkhan Murtazov, who arrived in Astana in December, has been in the airport transit zone for over a month. Kazakhstan has refused to consider his asylum application. According to his brother, Zelimkhan deserted from military service, so returning to Russia would result in imprisonment and torture. Kazakh authorities are seeking to force Murtazov to leave the transit zone voluntarily. But due to the lack of a passport, he can only fly to countries where there is a high risk of extradition to Russia, his brother said, adding that he has turned to human rights organizations for help.

"I can barely stand on my feet," - Chechen native Zelimkhan Murtazov, who is being barred from entering the country by Kazakh authorities, complained of the inability to breathe fresh air. Murtazov arrived in Astana on December 26, 2025, and has been in the airport's transit zone for about 45 days, since Kazakhstan refused to consider his asylum application. He deserted from military service and doesn't want to return to Russia, fearing imprisonment and torture, he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

I waited three years for my contract to end so I could return home, but they automatically extended it without asking my opinion. They did that to many.

Zelimkhan Murtazov signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense at the very beginning of the SVO to protect his brothers.

"When it all started, we were told that one person from each family had to sign a contract and go to the SVO. In that case, the rest of the family would be able to live peacefully; they wouldn't be sent to the SVO zone. I decided that I should be the one to sign the contract to protect my brothers. I waited 3 years for my contract to end so I could return home, but they renewed it automatically without asking my opinion. They did this to many people,” he said.

According to him, he “endured everything for the sake of his family.” “But when they did this to me, extended my contract and didn’t let me go home, I started thinking that I needed to change something, take matters into my own hands. They gave me leave, I went home, spent a few days there and decided to fly to Kazakhstan. I arrived, rented an apartment, turned off all the phones, lived, and came to my senses. They were looking for me in Chechnya, came to my relatives, asked where I was, wanted to find me and bring me back,” he says.

After that, he decided to leave Kazakhstan to find himself in Europe.

“My brother lives in France. I wanted to see him. I decided to buy tickets and first fly to Turkey, and from there to my brother. But in Turkey, the border guards stopped me They stopped me, checked my documents for two days, suspected they were fake, and then decided to deport me back to Kazakhstan and ban me from entering Turkey for five years. They put me on a plane and I ended up at Astana airport, where I was also denied entry,” he said.

As a result, the native of Chechnya ended up in the transit zone of a Kazakh airport.

“I’ve been here since the end of December. This is an ordinary lounge where people wait for their flights. I sleep here on benches, but I haven’t been able to sleep for a long time. I need fresh air; my head is no longer working, it’s hard for me to formulate thoughts. Fortunately, I don’t have any illnesses, but I really need fresh air. Airport staff are watching me, I can’t leave,” he described the conditions of his stay in Kazakhstan.

He asks to be given the opportunity to live in Kazakhstan or sent to a third country.

“I want to either live in Kazakhstan or end up in another safe country. I can’t and don’t want to go back to Russia. It’s clear what will happen to me there. Ideally, I would like to end up with my brother in France,” he noted.

The efforts of the older brother did not protect the other brothers from being sent to war.

“A year later, they came to us and said that our younger brother was liable for military service and had to go to the Central Military District. We asked, ‘What about your promises, because of which our older brother went to the Central Military District?’ They replied that everything had changed, and orders had been given from above to recruit new people. Then we sent the younger one to Turkey, but they came and said either we return him or I go in his place. I had to fly to Turkey too. Now I and "Zelimkhan's younger brother is in Europe," Turpal Murtazov, Zelimkhan's brother, told the "Caucasian Knot."

According to him, the ideal solution would be to send Zelimkhan to a third country.

"We really hope that Kazakhstan will do this. If this country doesn't want to keep him, then let them send him to me in France. That would be ideal. I don't see any preconditions for asylum for him in Kazakhstan. It would be good if he ends up in Europe. Lawyers are working on this. We are not sitting idle here either. We are contacting various human rights organizations in Europe, asking for help," he noted.

Kazakh activists and lawyers appealed Murtazov's denial of Asylum

Artur Alkhasov, a lawyer and representative of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Kazakhstan denied Murtazov entry due to concerns related to national security.

"The Kazakh authorities explain their refusal by saying that it is in the interests of ensuring national security. We have filed a complaint against the actions of the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the complaint is being considered by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office," he said. In addition, an application for refugee status in Kazakhstan has been submitted.

He does not know whether representatives of the Russian Embassy have attempted to meet with Murtazov, communicate, or learn about the problem.

Lawyers Rena Kerimova and Elena Zhigalenok also decided to provide legal assistance to Zelimkhan Murtazov.

“We got to Zelimkhan at the Astana airport. Luckily, they gave us a pass. They initially refused, but then, thanks to friends, we got a pass at the last minute. We discussed everything with him, the whole situation. We will work and write appeals to various authorities. We hope that everything will be fine,” Kerimova told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

He has no opportunity to wash or sleep normally in bed. He sleeps fully clothed, sitting on chairs.

Kazakhstani activist Askar Sagnayev calls the conditions in which Zelimkhan is being held at the Astana airport appalling.

“He has no opportunity to wash or sleep normally in bed. He sleeps fully clothed, sitting on chairs. For 21 days in this situation, he ate only once a day. The international convention ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan states that keeping a person in such conditions is tantamount to torture. As a citizen of Kazakhstan, I am outraged by what is happening and do not understand why our law enforcement agencies allow such inhumane treatment of a person,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.  

Representatives of the Chechen diaspora in Europe are also demanding Zelimkhan’s release, holding protests outside the embassy.

Thus, Today, a protest was planned outside the Kazakh embassy in Vienna demanding the release of Zelimkhan Murtazov. "We also demand the release of Chechen opposition activist Mansur Movlaev, whom Kazakhstan is going to extradite to Russia, where he awaits torture and death," one of the organizers of the protest told the "Caucasian Knot."

"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that the Kazakh Prosecutor General's Office ordered the extradition of Chechen native Mansur Movlaev to Russian security forces. The court has not yet considered the appeal against the denial of refugee status to Movlaev, the lawyers indicated. At the end of December 2025, the commission for reviewing asylum applications in Kazakhstan refused to grant Mansur Movlaev refugee status, asylum seeker. This decision was appealed, and Movlaev's defense also sent his appeals to the relevant UN structures asking them to suspend his extradition to Russia.

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 recognized as extremist, its activities are banned in Russia) with information about people abducted by Kadyrov's men. "He was persecuted for this active position," Rena Kerimova recounted Movlaev's words to Kursiv Media.

In 2022, Movlaev was detained by security forces in Chechnya and held in an illegal prison. After escaping from there in January In 2023, he was able to reach Kyrgyzstan. In August 2023, security forces in Kyrgyzstan detained Movlaev, who was wanted in Russia for financing extremist activity. 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 remained in effect, and he voluntarily left Kyrgyzstan to avoid being sent home.

In October 2024, Mansur Movlaev reported the kidnapping of his relatives by security forces in Chechnya. "Two of my brothers, Zelimkhan and Khamzat, were kidnapped. They are being held, tortured, and are trying to put pressure on me in some way," he said in the 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".