We are pleased to inform you that on 29 September 2020, the National Asylum Court of France delivered a historical decision granting refugee status to Kazakhstani opposition leader Mukhtar Ablyazov.

We are pleased to inform you that on 29 September 2020, the National Asylum Court of France delivered a historical decision granting refugee status to Kazakhstani opposition leader Mukhtar Ablyazov.
On May 26, 2020, seven MEPs addressed Ukrainian President Zelensky, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and the Head of the State Migration Service Maksym Sokoliuk with an appeal demanding the reevaluation of Zhanara Akhmetova’s asylum application and halting her extradition. Ms Akhmetova – a Kazakhstani journalist and oppositionist – and her 12-year-old son risk deportation from Ukraine as a consequence of the Supreme Court’s decision on May 14, 2020, which overturned its previous instance and rejected her asylum application.
A prominent Kazakhstani journalist and opposition activist Zhanara Akhmetova could be illegally extradited from Ukraine to Kazakhstan at any time. According to our sources, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is already preparing to place her under extradition arrest. On 19 May 2020, Akhmetova got a decision by the Supreme Court of Ukraine depriving her of the chance to be granted asylum. The decision was adopted in haste during the quarantine. It was also adopted without taking into account the arguments of Akhmetova’s lawyers.
On May 14, 2020, the decision to grant asylum to a prominent Kazakhstani journalist and oppositionist, Zhanara Akhmetova, and her 12-year-old son, was reversed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine, acting as a last instance court. Akhmetova is one of the leaders of the country’s biggest opposition movement “Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan”.
On May 14, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, acting as a last instance court, reversed the decision of the previous instance and declined to grant asylum to a prominent Kazakhstani journalist and oppositionist, Zhanara Akhmetova. The hearing was held without the presence of Akhmetova’s attorney. Akhmetova can be extradited to Kazakhstan anytime. If extradited, she faces torture and unfair trial. With all avenues for appeal having been formally exhausted, it is only the international community that can block the unlawful expulsion.
On November 29, 2019, the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) met in Strasbourg to discuss, among other items, the INTERPOL reform and extradition proceedings. A delegation of ODF, represented by Lyudmyla Kozlovska and Ana Ursachi, Moldovan lawyer and human rights defender, arrived at Palais de l’Europe to support the debate.
In the present document, the Open Dialogue Foundation, the Italian Federation for Human Rights, the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, the Human Rights Defenders e.V. and the Kharkiv Institute for Social Research attempt to fill the gaps in the PACE report and propose recommendations with respect to improving cooperation among the member states of the Council of Europe in the sphere of extradition.
In international law, there is an unconditional ban on the extradition of persons to countries where they may find themselves at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Extradition requests issued on the basis of politically motivated prosecutions are also illegal.
On 25 June, 2018, the Kyrgyz court authorised the extradition of the well-known opposition blogger Muratbek Tungishbayev to Kazakhstan. On 26 June, 2018, late in the evening, security officers took Tungishbayev from the detention centre in an unknown direction.
On 11 October, 2017, Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) addressed the Secretary of Interpol, Mr Jürgen Stock, and the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) in a bid to warn against abusive use of the international arrest warrant.
Fugitive alerts issued by Interpol, the international law enforcement clearinghouse, can make it hard for fugitives to slip across borders. But, the group’s ‘red notice’ database is frequently used by authoritarian governments to control and prosecute dissidents, human rights activists
On 24 July 2017, a former BTA Bank employee, Yerzhan Kadesov was extradited from Hungary to Kazakhstan. The information was announced by the Anti-Corruption Agency in Kazakhstan on 10 August 2017.
The practice of prosecuting political opponents with the help of controlled law enforcement agencies is systemic in Russia. Even in cases when political refugees have left the territory of Russia, they still cannot feel safe.
The extradition of Yerzhan Kadesov – how it is being carried out
Yerzhan Kadesov is a former employee of BTA Bank; currently, he is facing extradition from Hungary. Mr. Kadesov is accused within the framework of the criminal case, carried out against the Kazakhstani opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov (the case of BTA Bank).
Non-democratic states carry out political persecution through the Interpol system. Both human rights NGOs and intergovernmental organisations have been working on this problem for several years. Finally, the reform of Interpol got underway.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the PACE has adopted a resolution urging to end the abuse of INTERPOL’s Red Notices by authoritarian states! The documents includes practically all of our (and other civil society actors) recommendations and refers directly to our latest report on the matter.
We, the Russian and Polish human rights activists, hereby urge the Ministry of Justice of Austria to prevent the extradition of Nail Malyutin to Russia until the circumstances of his case are determined by the competent authorities of the Republic of Austria.
The Kazakhstani regime, and, in particular, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s lobbyists have done everything in their power to make the first meeting with the opposition politician particularly memorable.
The Kazakhstani regime, and, in particular, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s lobbyists have done everything in their power to make the first meeting with the opposition politician particularly memorable.
As the Open Dialog Foundation, we would like to thank you for your support during the past year and wish you all the best in your professional and personal life in 2017! On this occasion we would like also to share with you some of the ODF’s top achievements of the year 2016.
On 9 December 2016, France’s State Council (Conseil d’Etat) rejected Russia’s request for the extradition of the Kazakh opposition politician and businessman Mukhtar Ablyazov. The request for Ablyazov’s extradition was recognised as politically motivated.
On 7 December, 2016, the Higher Regional Court of Vienna (Oberlandesgericht Wien) revoked the decision of 29 July, 2015 to approve Malyutin’s extradition to Russia based on charges of incitement to murder. The court now ordered that the case of Malyutin be re-examined.
Breaking news: France has refused to extradite Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia and Ukraine. The decision of the French Conseil d’Etat is final. He is going to leave the arrest after 3 years.
We call upon the Czech authorities to defend Tatiana Paraskevich who has been exposed to persecution as a part of politically motivated case and now faces new threats.
In the last years, considerable criticism arose over the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), which used to be excessively passive in the wake of a growing trend of misuse of its mechanisms by authoritarian states.
The Open Dialog Foundation and the Center for Civil Liberties would like to invite to the OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2016 side-events (Sofitel Victoria Warsaw, Królewska St. 11, 00-065 Warsaw, Poland).
Kazakhstan exerts illegal and political influence on Ukraine and Russia in the framework of the criminal case against Mukhtar Ablyazov and Tatiana Paraskevich. The Czech Republic refused to extradite Paraskevich, however, Ukraine and Russia re-submitted similar requests for her extradition.
On 28 June, 2016, the court in Vilnius handed down the ruling denying the requests of Kazakhstan and Ukraine regarding the extradition of Syrym Shalabayev who is a relative of the Kazakh opposition politician and political refugee, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
We, the representatives of Russian human rights organisations, would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Kazakh opposition politician and political refugee Mukhtar Ablyazov is currently facing extradition from France to Russia.
French media outlet Mediapart, founded by a former Le Monde editor, Edwy Plenel, has published an article on the case of Mukhtar Ablyazov. Mediapart, famous for its investigative journalism, described how Kazakhstan had influenced the legal proceedings in France.
On 14 January, 2016, MP Yegor Sobolev urged the General Prosecutor’s Office to carefully examine publicised incidents of abuse by Ukrainian investigators in the cases against Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov and his relative Syrym Shalabayev.
Human rights defenders appeal to the office of the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Justice and President of Lithuania requesting recognition of political motivations behind persecution of a relative of the Kazakh dissident and urging not to allow S. Shalabayev’s extradition to Kazakhstan or Ukraine.
12 Oct 2015 – The French government has decided to extradite Mukhtar Ablyazov, Kazakh dissident and key representative of political opposition to longtime Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, to Russia.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls signed a decree on September 17, ordering the extradition to Russia of Kazakh dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov.
We wish to draw your attention to the alarming fact of the prosecution of the relative of a Kazakh oppositionist in a case which is overtly characterised by political context.
Syrym Shalabayev, a relative of the Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, requests that Lithuania grants him political asylum and protection against extradition.
Kazakhstan is orchestrating the Ukrainian and Russian investigations in the case of an opposition politician and applies illegal lobbying mechanisms in Europe.
The Open Dialog Foundation welcomes the decision of the General Assembly of Interpol to provide a mandate for the Interpol Working Group on the Processing of Information (the GTI) for the implementation of a comprehensive review of Interpol’s supervisory mechanisms in the area of data processing.
The French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has responded to a letter from Maddy Delvaux, currently an MEP, formerly a minister in the governments of prime ministers of Luxembourg Jacques Santer and Jean-Claude Juncker.
Open Dialog Foundation presentation for the PACE Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee meeting in Yerevan, 19 May 2015 – hearing on politically motivated misuse of INTERPOL.
I am standing up for Ablyazov, asking that the politically motivated criminal case against him be closed and the Ukrainian extradition request against him be withdrawn.
As an expression of our solidarity with human rights organisations who have published reports, members of the European Parliament and the PACE regarding the case of Ablyazov, we hereby present you with an appeal that you deny the requests for the extradition of the Kazakh opposition politician.
Representatives of the Open Dialog Foundation recorded video material with greetings for the Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is now imprisoned in France due to requests for his extradition, filed by Ukraine and Russia.
Representatives of the Open Dialog Foundation recorded video material with greetings for the Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is now imprisoned in France due to requests for his extradition, filed by Ukraine and Russia.
Open Dialog Foundation presentation for the PACE Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee meeting in Yerevan, 19 May 2015 – hearing on politically motivated misuse of INTERPOL.
1. Introduction The political context of the case of Mukhtar Ablyazov has been repeatedly referred to in the statements of human rights organisations, members of the European Parliament and the PACE. Russia and Ukraine are not safe countries for extradition as these countries do not guarantee the right to a fair trial or adequate conditions […]
Since his arrest on the basis of a ‘red notice’, Mukhtar Ablyazov has already spent nearly two years in different detention facilities in France. Now, as the extradition trials have come to an end, the fate of the famous Kazakh oppositionist will depend on a decision by the French government.
The MEPs Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Michał Boni (Poland), Pavel Svoboda, Tomas Zdechovsky (Czech Republic) and Tunne Kelam (Estonia) addressed an appeal to France’s highest authorities in defence of Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Below, we list political opponents, their families and colleagues, persecuted by the Kazakh authorities and president Nursultan Nazarbayev through the misuse of the INTERPOL system in the European Union in the years 2012-2015.
Ingancio Sanchez Amor, addressed a letter to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the National Assembly of the French Republic, E. Guigou, requesting that it be delivered to all Committee members. In his letter, he appealed to the French government not to extradite the Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, addressed an appeal to the Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Victor Shokin concerning the Kazakh dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Despite being in receipt of permission from the Prefecture, the President of the Open Dialog Foundation, Lyudmyla Kozlovska, and the Kazakh oppositionist, Muratbek Ketebayev, were denied the right to submit a letter addressed to the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, at Hôtel Matignon.
Illegal cooperation with the Kazakh authorities discredits the new leadership of the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies
11.03.2015 Muratbek Ketebayev left Spain and went back to Poland, where since December 2013 he has a refugee status. It ended the procedure, through which the regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev tried to obtain Ketebayev’s extradition from Spain to Kazakhstan.
On 11 March, 2015, Members of the European Parliament from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (Social Democrats), intervened in the case of Mr Mukhtar Ablyazov, Kazakh dissident and the main political opponent of the current President of Kazakhstan.
The Open Dialog Foundation has addressed a letter to EU representatives, including the European Parliament President, Martin Schulz, and members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) and the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament (DROI)
The presentation of the most recent report of the Open Dialog Foundation on the need to reform the Interpol system is producing its first effects.
When granting asylum to the associate of the Kazakh political opposition, the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Spain revealed the ill faith and errors his case had suffered from at the hands of courts and administrative bodies.
T. Paraskevich, ex-colleague of a Kazakh dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov, granted additional international protection in the Czech Republic for the next two years. On 18 February 2015, the Czech authorities have decided to extend by two years the protection Paraskevich first received in February 2014.
A court in Madrid has ordered the release of the Kazakh dissident, Muratbek Ketebayev from custody. Thus, the judges found the arguments of the Spanish Embassy in Poland, which had confirmed the day before that he enjoys refugee status in Poland and called for his release. Ketebayev regained his fre
The Spanish senator Urko Aiartza has filed a written inquiry concerning the Kazakh activist and oppositionist Muratbek Ketebayev.
In a letter to the Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala, Polish MPs expressed their concern over the detention of Kazakh activist Muratbek Ketebayev in Spain, who has been granted refugee status in Poland.
Italian Senator, Manuela Serra, wrote a letter to President of France, Francois Hollande with regard to Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh dissident, currently in custody in France awaiting extradition, the main political opponent of President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
On Tuesday, 28th October 2014, the decision of the Municipal Court in Sofia to deny the extradition to Russia of the French democracy activist Nikolay Koblyakov became final.
On Thursday, 30 October 2014, the Polish MEP Kosma Złotowski, a member of the EURONEST Eastern Partnership Parliamentary Assembly, has written to French, Ukrainian and Polish governmental representatives on the case of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh oppositionist and the main political opponent of the P
After a court in Lyon gave a green light to France’s extradition of Kazakh political opponent Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia or Ukraine this evening, on the basis of a one-day hearing for each case, at which the judges refused to hear a single defense witness, Ablyazov’s defense vowed that their client
Nikolay Koblyakov, a Russian and French citizen is being detained in Bulgaria and faces extradition to Russia. We believe main reason for his persecution is his engagement in numerous activities supporting democratic developments in Russia.
Criminal prosecution of Mukhtar Ablyazov is being carried out on the political order of the Kazakh authorities. In cooperation with Ukrainian and Russian investigative authorities, Kazakhstan is striving to bring about the extradition of an opponent of the regime.
On Tuesday, July 29, the Spanish court sanctioned the release of Kazakh oppositionist, Alexandr Pavlov subject to bail conditions.
The Internet portal NGO.pl published information by the Open Dialog Foundation on Alexandr Pavlov – an associate of the Kazakhstan opposition, imprisoned in Spain.
We are deeply concerned over the fact that the judicial bodies in Ukraine could not abandon the practices which took place during the government of Viktor Yanukovych as well as previously.
Human right activists are demanding that the the Office of the Prosecutor-General of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine cancel the requests for the extradition of the Kazakh political refugee, Mukhtar Ablyazov from France to Ukraine.
Tatiana Paraskevich, a former colleague of the opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, is currently under international protection in the Czech Republic and cannot be rendered to Ukraine or the Russian Federation.
According to the information received by Open Dialog Foundation, the Spanish government secretly issued a decree, allowing the extradition of Aleksandr Pavlov to Kazakhstan, on 14 February 2014.
It is very important to prevent the extradition of refugees from European countries to Russia, where they might be subjected to torture or be sent back to the countries of Central Asia and subjected to ill-treatment and convicted there.
Human rights and the issue of their observance have become the subject of the conference, which was held in the Senate on 16 December, 2013.
Human rights and the issue of their observance have become the subject of the conference, which was held in the Senate on 16 December, 2013. The conference was organised by the Legislative Committee and the Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Petitions Committee.
We, the undersigned, appeal to the government of Spain not to allow the extradition of Alexandr Pavlov to Kazakhstan.
A decision was ratified by a Czech court to extradite Tatyana Paraskevich, former colleague of Kazakhstan opposition politician, Mukhtar Ablyazov to Ukraine
Alexander Pavlov’s lawyers appealed against the decision of a Spanish court on his extradition to Kazakhstan. The former security chief and confidant of opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov is a valuable source of information for the law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan
Former employee of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank, Zaure Akpenbetova may face extradition to Kazakhstan in connection with the charges she has been presented with in the criminal case of a prominent opposition politician, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
The political struggle against the main opponent of the regime has resulted in gross violations of civil and political rights in Kazakhstan, as well as the neglect of the international obligations, assumed by the state.
Last Thursday, the Spanish Audiencia Nacional сourt decided to hand over Aleksandr Pavlov, a former bodyguard of Mukhtar Ablyazov, to Kazakh authorities. He was charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack.
Kazakh authorities are trying to extradite Mukhtar Ablyazov’s former bodyguard Alexandr Pavlov. In view of the vague nature of the charges, the Open Dialog Foundation calls upon the authorities of the Kingdom of Spain to prevent the extradition of A. Pavlov to Kazakhstan