More than 150 human rights defenders, journalists, civil society and political figures, as well as civil society organisations, have called on the Kazakh authorities to halt the extradition to Russia of Mansur Movlaev and Yulia Yemelyanova. The joint statement was issued after both lost their appeals against court decisions denying them asylum in Kazakhstan.

The appeal says that the Consuls of the Anti-War Committee, together with the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR/IGFM) and the Kovcheg human rights project, are calling on Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to prevent the extradition of Movlaev and Yemelyanova.

The signatories say the risk of Movlaev and Yemelyanova being handed over to the Russian authorities has increased sharply following the decisions by Kazakh courts. They are calling on Astana to comply with its international obligations to protect refugees and prevent the activists from being deported to Russia.

The statement says Russian law-enforcement agencies use extradition requests as a tool to persecute activists and opposition politicians. According to the signatories, some such requests are based on criminal cases that human rights defenders consider fabricated.

“Of particular concern is the possibility that additional, more serious charges could be brought against them, including charges related to treason. Such tactics — using extradition requests based on fabricated accusations — are regularly employed by Russian law-enforcement agencies against activists and opposition politicians because of their anti-war position,” the statement says.

The appeal also lists the risks Movlaev and Yemelyanova could face if returned to Russia: “political persecution, torture, sexualised violence, poisoning, enforced disappearance and even death”.

The document says Tokayev and the Kazakh authorities face a “conscious choice” — either expose the activists to these risks or allow them to leave for safe third countries.

The signatories recall that Yemelyanova was subjected to ill-treatment after her detention in Russia. They also refer to the alleged abductions and violence against Movlaev’s relatives, as well as his two suicide attempts while in detention.

The Consuls of the Anti-War Committee also address Germany and European institutions separately. They call on the German government, the European Commission and the European Council to “intervene at the highest political level to protect both activists”. The statement also says that Kazakhstan cannot seek closer cooperation with Europe while “ignoring its international human rights obligations”.

The appeal sets out specific demands to the Kazakh authorities: “finally halt both extraditions, release Yulia Yemelyanova and Mansur Movlaev from detention, and allow them to safely travel to third countries willing to provide them with protection”.

Against the backdrop of the appeal, demonstrations in support of Movlaev and Yemelyanova have taken place in recent days outside Kazakh diplomatic missions in at least three cities — Warsaw, Vilnius and Nicosia.

In Warsaw, a one-person protest was held outside the Kazakh embassy on 25 September. It was organised by Alexander Menyukov, a member of the Anti-War Committee’s Consuls project.

In Vilnius, activists held a demonstration outside the Kazakh embassy in support of Yemelyanova. Participants included Anti-War Committee consuls Margarita Kuchusheva and Irino Vesikko, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov and anti-war activist Anna Gorelik.

A similar protest took place in Nicosia on 27 September. An activist from the Democratic Community of Russians in Cyprus spoke outside the Kazakh embassy.

Mansur Movlaev has been held in Kazakhstan under an extradition arrest order since May 2025. He has said that Chechen security forces abducted and tortured him twice.

Movlaev managed to leave Russia using forged documents. In September, he twice attempted suicide in a Kazakh pre-trial detention centre. After one of the attempts, Movlaev left a note saying that he feared being returned to Russia and asking for help for Yemelyanova.

Yulia Yemelyanova is a former employee of Alexei Navalny’s St Petersburg headquarters and an activist with the Emigration for Action and Just Help projects. On 31 August 2025, she was detained at Almaty airport during a transit stopover. Russia is seeking her on a case involving the alleged theft of a mobile phone from a taxi driver in 2021. Yemelyanova managed to leave Russia in 2022. She denies the allegations. She is currently also being held in Almaty’s pre-trial detention centre under an extradition arrest order.

Among those who signed the appeal in support of Movlaev and Yemelyanova are human rights defenders Lev Ponomaryov, Oleg Orlov, Karinna Moskalenko, Sergei Davidis, Ksenia Fadeeva, Marina Litvinovich, Andrei Pivovarov and Margarita Kuchusheva. The statement was also endorsed by OVD-Info, Kovcheg, Russie-Libertés, the Russian Democratic Society UK and other human rights and anti-war organisations.