Human rights defenders assess Movlaev's chances of avoiding extradition

To record the torture to which Mansur Movlaev was subjected in Chechnya, an examination of internal organs and psychological examinations may be conducted.

Movlaev's advocates will also have to prove that he is at risk of torture in the event of extradition from Kazakhstan to Russia, human rights defenders have noted.

The letter from the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) on guarantees of the absence of political motives in relation to Movlaev was written at the request of the Kazakh side, Valentina Chupik, a free lawyer for migrants, believes.

"I think that this letter was written at the direct request of Kazakh authorities precisely with the aim of absolving themselves of responsibility for his extradition to Russia. Kazakhstan can theoretically refuse extradition if torture in the past is proven. But whether it will is unlikely, given my assumption regarding the letter from the Russian GPO," Ms Chupik told the "Caucasian Knot", adding that if Movlaev is denied asylum, the status of "asylum seeker" will no longer protect him.

"This status is not revoked, but automatically terminated if a person is denied asylum. Since Kazakhstan is not a member of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cannot use Rule 38 on the ban of extradition to Russia. Kazakhstan has not signed the Rome Statute either. So there are no international legal mechanisms to protect Movlaev from extradition to Russia, unless Kazakhstan grants him asylum," Valentina Chupik has noted, explaining that there is another possibility as a way out of the current situation.

"Theoretically, it’s possible that some third country will grant him asylum and request that he be extradited to that country; but in this case, Kazakhstan itself decides at the request of which country Movlaev should be extradited. In such cases, there is the ‘humanitarian priority’ of the UN Convention for the Protection from Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Kazakhstan has ratified – but in order to use this priority, there must be a country that is willing to grant asylum to Movlaev," she has explained.

It is possible to achieve Kazakhstan's refusal to extradite Movlaev, believes Stefaniya Kulaeva, the head of the "Memorial" Anti-Discrimination Centre.

"Even if there was a legal prosecution on a criminal, not political charge, then it is impossible to extradite a person who is threatened with torture. I know cases, when even in Russia, it was possible to obtain a refusal to extradite a person accused of murder in a country where the person was tortured and executed for it. Persecution for political reasons and falsification of criminal prosecution as a way of repressing critics of the authorities are quite sufficient grounds for asylum, if proven well,” Ms Kulaeva told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent, noting that to do this, it is necessary to prove the likelihood of torture in Russia.

“As for torture in the past, in order to fight off extradition, this is a basis for asking for asylum, but it’s also necessary to prove the likelihood of torture in the event of Movlaev's return to Russia. Kazakhstan can take all this into account and reject extradition. If Movlaev receives asylum in Kazakhstan, his extradition to the country from which he had to flee is extremely unlikely; another thing is that the seeker in the refugee status itself can also be denied. It is necessary to declare the norms of the international law so that Kazakhstan does not extradite – and if it does, you know, things are bad, as alternative methods of international protection in Russia don’t really work now," she has emphasized.

The fact of torture can be established both with the help of a psychologist and by examining the body, says Olga Sadovskaya, a lawyer for the "Team against Torture" (TaT)*.

"If there was torture, the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder will most likely be established, and, possibly, other diagnoses. But still, if we are talking about torture, more important than psychological research is the search for traces of torture on the person’s body and organs. From our experience working on Chechen cases, we know that there are characteristic methods of using force in this region, namely: beatings with polypropylene pipes, rapes with improvised objects, serial beatings with feet in the stomach area. If this was not a short-term episode, then most likely, traces can be found even several years later. These traces should coincide in their location with the victim's story about what kind of violence was used against him and how. In our practice, there were cases where we, with the help of international experts, documented traces of torture years later. Just as a crime always leaves evidence in space, so torture always leaves traces on one’s body. The Istanbul Protocol was updated in 2022, and it contains many new methods of collecting and analyzing evidence, and in place of the advocates, I would not focus on it, but first of all on Movlaev's examination," Ms Sadovskaya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, explaining that the absence of officially recorded torture could affect the decision of granting asylum.

"The question is what is meant by the notion of ‘officially recorded’. Recorded by whom? By Russian authorities in court? Now, in relation to Chechen cases, this is practically impossible, so the absence of such a record will have no significance. Another thing is that it would be much easier to build a defence if there was a decision of the ECtHR in Movlaev's case or, for example, a court decision on the application of urgent measures when he was tortured in custody. This would be a serious trump card in advocates’ hands. Perhaps there is a complaint to the UN treaty bodies or a description of his case with the available evidence has already been submitted to some UN treaty body or voiced in one of the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on Russia. But as I understand it, there is no such thing either. Then you just need to make efforts to collect the necessary and sufficient evidence that Movlaev was actually tortured. <...> This is a whole methodology – to conduct an independent investigation of torture so that there is no doubt about its use, but it is possible. Plus, cases originating in the Chechen Republic have good support in the form of numerous reports of NGOs and international bodies on the situation with torture in the region, and ECtHR’s decisions," Olga Sadovskaya has noted, adding that if Movlaev passes the polygraph, this will be treated as a weak argument for the UNHCR (High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations).

"The polygraph itself is not a tool for proving whether a person is telling the truth or not. It shows the level of anxiety and stress a person is experiencing when answering a question. I can say with confidence that if a person has been tortured, then when answering the question of whether he was tortured, the person will experience the same level of stress, regardless of whether he answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’, because the question itself puts him in a stressful situation. Well, in general, this is relevant for all questions. If such a study is conducted, the UN will not respond by saying ‘we don’t accept this’, but its results will serve as a timid secondary argument, and nothing more," Ms Sadovskaya has emphasized.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 14, 2025 at 08:47 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here. 

*The "Team against Torture" (TaT, formerly the "Committee against Torture" – CaT) was created by the lawyers who had earlier worked for the CaT, which was included into the register of the NCOs performing the functions of foreign agents.

**On March 21, 2022, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.