A Kazakh court has rejected Movlaev's appeal against his asylum application.
The Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of the Akmola Region has ruled that the denial of asylum in Kazakhstan to Chechen native Mansur Movlaev is lawful. His defense intends to appeal the decision.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan suspended the decision to extradite Chechen native Mansur Movlaev to Russian authorities pending the final review of his asylum application. Human rights defenders and activists considered the Chechen native's defense's complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee and the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan's decision suspending the extradition process to be interrelated. On February 26, Movlaev was asked to question witnesses and recuse the judge who was attempting to complete the consideration of his appeal against the denial of asylum in Kazakhstan in one session.
At the end of December 2025, the commission for reviewing asylum applications in Kazakhstan refused to grant refugee status to Mansur Movlaev. On January 30, it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan had decided to extradite Mansur Movlaev, a native of Chechnya, to Russian security forces; his defense appealed this decision. On February 23, the UN Committee registered Movlaev's complaint and requested that Kazakhstan refrain from extraditing him until the committee considers the complaint.
Late in the evening of February 26, the Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of Akmola Oblast rejected the appeal of Chechen native Mansur Movlaev's defense against the denial of refugee status, his lawyer, Rena Kerimova, told the Caucasian Knot. Thus, the court upheld the decision to deny Movlaev refugee status.
She also noted that the court rejected the request of Movlaev's other lawyer, Elena Zhigalenok, to disqualify the judge. "We don't yet know the exact wording of the refusal. "As soon as we receive the text of the court's decision, we will appeal it to the Akmola Regional Court," Kerimova stated.
The hearing where the court rejected the appeal was rescheduled for the evening, after working hours, and Mansur Movlaev did not participate. The detention center where the Chechen native is being held does not allow participation in videoconference sessions after working hours.
The information about the refusal was confirmed by human rights activist Murat Adam. "As we expected, the court rejected Mansur Movlaev's claim challenging the illegal denial of asylum in the Republic of Kazakhstan," he wrote on his Facebook page*.
The "Caucasian Knot" reported that in 2022, Mansur Movlaev was detained by security forces in Chechnya and held in an illegal prison. After escaping from there, he was able to reach Kyrgyzstan in January 2023. In August 2023, security forces in Kyrgyzstan detained Movlaev, who was wanted in Russia for financing extremist activity. A Bishkek court sentenced Movlaev to six months in prison and subsequent deportation from the country. On November 20, 2023, Movlaev was released, but the deportation order remained in effect, and he voluntarily left Kyrgyzstan to avoid being sent home. In May 2025, Movlaev, who had been placed on the wanted list by the Shali District Department of Chechnya, was detained in Kazakhstan and placed under extradition arrest.
Mansur Movlaev also 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.