The collective letter was published in the account of Movlaev’s support group. It was signed by 155 activists, public figures, and human rights defenders, as well as human rights and Russian opposition organizations; among the signatories are human rights defenders from Norway, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and other countries, the director of the film “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” Pavel Talankin, human rights defender Oleg Orlov, and journalists from Kazakhstan.
The authors of the letter ask the authorities of Kazakhstan to immediately stop the extradition to Russia of Chechen native Mansur Movlaev and former staff member of opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s headquarters Yulia Emelyanova. They also call for compliance with obligations under international law and for Movlaev and Emelyanova to be given the opportunity to travel to a third country.
The appeal says that the human rights defenders have strong grounds to believe the persecution is politically motivated. It also claims that the Russian authorities regularly use wanted notices against people with opposition views, and that Movlaev’s relatives had already been tortured by Chechen security forces after his departure.
In Russia, Movlaev was accused of extremism; he himself says the case was fabricated. In 2022, he managed to escape from a “secret prison” and illegally make his way to Kyrgyzstan, and in August 2023 he was arrested for illegally crossing the border.
In May 2025, Movlaev was once again taken into custody — this time in Kazakhstan and at Russia’s request. On December 31, 2025, the authorities of Kazakhstan denied him asylum; in February, the Supreme Court suspended deportation after an appeal from the UN Human Rights Committee, and in September the cassation court upheld the denial of asylum.
After that, as stated in the message, Movlaev twice tried to take his own life — first in a pretrial detention center, then in a hospital. He also said that a prosecutor in Kazakhstan suggested he “become a martyr” in Chechnya.
The Chechen Prosecutor’s Office refused to open a criminal case over the kidnapping of Movlaev’s brother and parents, as reported by the support group. According to it, in June 2026 Zelimkhan Movlaev was kidnapped and beaten, Movsar and Khava’s parents were also kidnapped, and then all three were returned home; activists believe this was done to pressure Mansur Movlaev.
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