Chechen activists concerned about fate of Mansur Movlaev detained in Almaty

Mansur Movlaev, a native of Chechnya, has been detained by law enforcers in Kazakhstan. Chechen activists fear that Movlaev’s extradition to Russia threatens with torture.

Today, the Chechen human rights organization “Vayfond” has issued a message about the threat of Mansur Movlaev’s extradition from Kazakhstan to Russia. Movlaev faces charges in Russia “not related to his political position”; he himself treats the charges as fabricated.

“If he is handed over to Russian or Chechen power structures, there is an extremely high probability that he will be subjected to torture, cruel treatment, and extrajudicial execution. The risks to his life and health are beyond doubt,” the Telegram channel of the “Vayfond” has stated.

Activists of the “Vayfond” are convinced that Movlaev’s extradition poses a real threat to his life. They have recalled the fate of Yasin Khalidov, who was detained on the border with Kazakhstan, after which he disappeared and, “in all likelihood, was killed” in Chechnya. “The transfer of Movlaev to Russian authorities would be a gross violation of Kazakhstan's international human rights obligations,” the “Vayfond” has emphasized in its statement.

The Mansur Movlaev’s detention in Kazakhstan became known in the evening on May 14. According to the acquaintances who have spread this information, Movlaev sent a message that he had been detained a day earlier, in the evening on May 13, after which his acquaintances were unable to contact him. According to unofficial information from a source in the Almaty police, the reason for the detention was Movlaev's search in Russia.

Tumso Abdurakhmanov*, a blogger oppositional to Chechen authorities, is also confident that Movlaev is in serious danger. "If the guy is extradited to Russia, he will be killed there!" the blogger wrote in his Telegram channel in his comment on the information about the detention of his fellow countryman.

One of the Chechen oppositional Telegram channels, with which Movlaev was earlier associated, has noted that he had not contacted the administration for the past two months, since March. Deportation to Russia for Movlaev means a "death sentence," the channel's activists have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 15, 2025 at 05:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.