Movlaev appealed to the UN with a request to suspend the extradition.

The defense team for Chechen native Mansur Movlaev has submitted his appeals to the Committee against Torture, UN special rapporteurs, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Kazakhstan, requesting that they suspend his extradition to the Russian Federation.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, at the end of December, the asylum review commission in Kazakhstan refused to grant Mansur Movlaev refugee status. Kazakh authorities should not extradite Chechen native Mansur Movlaev to Russia, who faces persecution in his home country and a possible threat to his life, social media users stated.

Mansur Movlaev, an asylum seeker in the Republic of Kazakhstan, has submitted petitions to the Committee against Torture, UN special rapporteurs, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Kazakhstan. The letters were published on the Instagram* page "Freedom for Mansur Movlaev."

In his petition to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Kazakhstan, Movlaev stated that he is an asylum seeker and has been held in Kazakhstan since May 15, 2025, pending extradition. On December 25, 2025, his asylum application was rejected by the national commission. This decision is currently being appealed in court and has not yet entered into legal force.

"If extradited, I would be exposed to a real risk of persecution and torture. Due to the ongoing consideration of my asylum case, my removal is legally impossible. The maximum 12-month period of extradition detention expires on May 13. Continued detention after this date would raise serious concerns in terms of arbitrariness and compliance with international refugee protection standards," the statement reads.

"I ask UNHCR to pay attention to my situation, conduct monitoring, or take other actions within its mandate that are deemed appropriate," Movlayev added.

In his petition to the Committee against Torture, he emphasized that in the event of extradition or other transfer from Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation, he is exposed to a real and personal risk of torture and ill-treatment.

"The authorities of the Russian Federation are persecuting me on grounds that I consider politically motivated and unfounded. In the Russian Federation, and particularly in the Chechen Republic, torture, enforced disappearances, and other forms of ill-treatment against individuals in similar situations are widespread and well documented by international organizations and human rights bodies," the statement reads.

Movlaev believes that if he is transferred to the Russian Federation, he will not have access to effective protection from torture and ill-treatment, and there is a serious risk that he will be subjected to physical and psychological violence.

While studying at university, Mansur Movlaev assisted the Chechen opposition movement "Adat" (an organization recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) with information about abducted people. In 2020, Movlaev was sentenced in Russia to two years in prison on drug trafficking charges. He told his lawyers that investigators gave him a "choice" of two charges: weapons possession or drug possession, and he was facing prison either way. In 2022, Movlaev was released on parole but was detained by security forces in Chechnya and held in an illegal prison. He escaped and, in January 2023, was able to illegally enter Kyrgyzstan after being framed for financing extremism.

In August 2023, security forces in Kyrgyzstan detained Movlaev, who was wanted in Russia for financing extremist activity. On October 4, 2023, a Bishkek court sentenced Movlaev to six months in prison and subsequent deportation from the country. In October 2024, Mansur Movlaev reported the kidnapping of his relatives by security forces in Chechnya.