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.
Zhanara Akhmetova is a Kazakhstani journalist, one of the leaders of the opposition movement “Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan” (DCK). For several years, Akhmetova and her minor son have been unsuccessfully seeking refugee status and, through this, political asylum in Ukraine.
In case of the extradition of Akhmetova, Ukraine would violate several ratified international conventions. For the new government, this case would become one of the first serious exams in the observation of the rights of refugees and extradition procedures. Will the new authorities of Ukraine pass the test in the cooperation with dictatorial regimes?
On 10 December 2019, in Kyiv, a discussion was held on the topic: “How to protect political refugees from illegal extraditions and misuse of interstate legal assistance?”. The event was held as part of the 4th National Human Rights Non-Conference. The Open Dialogue Foundation, the Right to Protection Charitable Foundation, the Kharkov Institute of Social Studies, and the Human Rights Agenda Coalition were among the organisers of the event.
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.
On 15 March 2019, it became known that the State Migration Service of Ukraine had refused to grant refugee status to an opposition blogger from Kazakhstan, Ardak Ashim. On the same day, it became known that the Ukrainian Migration Service had again refused to grant asylum to Kazakhstani opposition j
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 12 July 2018, eight MEPs signed an open letter addressed to President Nazarbayev decrying the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. MEPs J. Stetina, P. Austrevicius, T. Kelam, W. Klinz, A. Gomes, H. Hautala, V. Mazuronis and J. Nart denounced the reduction of the space for civil liberties.
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.
When arriving in Ukraine, political refugees do not leave their problems behind; on the contrary, they face new ones.
On 22 November 2017, at 2:00 p.m., the Kyiv Appellate Court will consider Zhanara Akhmetova’s appeal against her extradition arrest. Kazakhstani opposition journalist Zhanara Akhmetova was arrested in Kyiv at the request of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstani opposition journalist Zhanara Akhmetova was detained in Kiev on 21 October 2017 with gross violations of the Ukrainian legislation. On 24 October 2017, the court ruled on her temporary arrest for 18 days. In protest against the decision, Akhmetova went on a hunger strike.
Kazakhstan put the journalist Zhanara Akhmetova on the wanted list on the basis of a court judgement which had already become effective; according to her counsels, it is illegal. The Migration Service of Ukraine refused to grant refugee status to Akhmetova.
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.
In modern Kazakhstan, activists and journalists receive prison terms for civil and trade union activities, for public criticism of the authorities, for participating in peaceful rallies, for publishing and sharing posts on social networks, and for conducting journalistic investigations.
The battle over fugitive billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov stretches from Kazakhstan to Knightsbridge
Non-democratic states continue to issue international arrest warrants for dissidents, journalists and political opponents. The fact that the problem is continuing to be present means that regimes adapt their conducts and ultimately the new reforms do not catch up with the reality.
The Open Dialog Foundation, in partnership with Destination Justice held a debate “Reform of the INTERPOL: don’t let it be stopped halfway” in Warsaw on 15 September 2017, at the premises of the National Stadium (PGE Narodowy) on the occasion of the OSCE HDIM2017.
The Open Dialog Foundation, in partnership with Destination Justice held a debate “Reform of the INTERPOL: don’t let it be stopped halfway” in Warsaw on 15 September 2017, at the premises of the National Stadium (PGE Narodowy) on the occasion of the OSCE HDIM2017.
This film was prepared in cooperation with Destination Justice in order to attract attention to the problem of Interpol that is frequently misused by authoritarian regimes. It was screened at our Interpol side event during Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2017 organised by OSCE ODIHR in Warsaw
In two letters addressed to the Secretary of INTERPOL, Mr Jürgen Stock and the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF), Members of the Polish Parliament, Mr Marcin Święcicki and Mrs Kornelia Wróblewska expressed their concern over individual cases.
MPs Mr Marcin Święcicki (Platforma Obywatelska) and Mrs Kornelia Wróblewska (Nowoczesna Ryszarda Petru) addressed the Minister of Justice of Hungary in respect to the extradition of a Kazakh citizen, Mr Yerzhan Kadesov, who fell victim of politically motivated prosecution of Mr Mukhtar Ablyazov.
In Spain, more Turkish dissidents fall victim to the abuse by Ankara of INTERPOL mechanisms. Increasingly frequently, Turkish authorities accuse their critics of criminal offences and demand their extradition. In Granada, upon a request from Turkish authorities, the writer Dogan Akhanli was arrested
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 General Secretariat of the International Criminal Police Organization certified that the names of the Kazakh opposition politicians Mukhtar Ablyazov and Muratbek Ketebayev, as well as Ablyazov’s associates Tatiana Paraskevich and Alexandr Pavlov were deleted from the INTERPOL’s databases.
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).
Between Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 July, 2017, the Open Dialog Foundation met in Rome with representatives of NGOs and members of the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The 2-days visit was an opportunity to discuss individual cases of victims of abusive Red Notices.
Strategic cooperation between the Council of Europe and Kazakhstan in the field of criminal and constitutional justice, human rights and democratic citizenship has so far been an essential monitoring tool in bringing Kazakhstani institutions in line with European standards.
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.
On Wednesday, 26 April, 2017, experts, politicians, NGOs and victims of abusive Red Notices gathered at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to assess current improvements and challenges of INTERPOL’s system and provide recommendations on reforms of INTERPOL.
France recognised the political nature of the prosecution of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a longtime opponent of Nursultan Nazarbayev. The need to obtain ‘additional testimonies’ against Ablyazov led to the intensification of a ‘hunt’ for former top managers of BTA Bank.
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.
Through illegal extraditions and violations of the rights of refugees, the Ukrainian authorities contribute towards the political persecution by Moldova, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
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).
(Translation from Russian) Supreme Public Prosecutor, of the Czech Republic, Pavel Zeman Jezuitská 4, Brno, CZ-660 55 Czech Republic, [email protected]; Head of Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic, Tomáš Haišman 21/ОАМ, Nad Štolou, 3, Praha 7, CZ-170 34 [email protected]; [email protected]; Minister of Justice of the Czech […]
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.
The decision on his extradition to Russia must be reconsidered
As early as in 2014 the Czech Republic granted to Tatiana Paraskevich subsidiary protection, refusing to extradite her to Ukraine or Russia. However, in 2016, Ukraine and Russia almost simultaneously issued identical requests for Paraskevich’s extradition.
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.
The participant in high-profile corruption scandals Vladimir Guzyr prepared a statement on the ‘validity’ and ‘legality’ of the request for Syrym Shalabayev’s extradition.
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.
Syrym Shalabayev, a relative of the Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, is accused in the criminal case concerning the ‘embezzlement of funds of BTA Bank’. Human rights organisations have underlined the political context of the case.
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 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.
In view of the changing reality, Interpol is forced to demonstrate its continued readiness to introduce reform and adjust its structures and procedures according to current needs. Our initiative and, at the same time, appeal addressed to legislators, is that they immediately undertake efforts in order to prevent Interpol from being used for political purposes […]
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.
This information was aired in the Verkhovna Rada today by the MP from the All-Ukrainian Union ‘Svoboda’ [‘Freedom’], Oleg Sukhovskiy and representative of the Open Dialog Foundation, Petr Okhotin.
Deputy of the Ukrainian Svoboda party, Oleg Osuhovsky, and Petro Okhotin of the Open Dialog Foundation talked at the Verkhovna Rada about the abuse of Interpol mechanisms by façade democracies such as Kazakhstan and Russia.
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.
Federica Mogherini, replied to a letter from MEPs of the progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) at the European Parliament concerning mass-scale abuse of the system of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) by Kazakh authorities.
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.
Jan Olbrycht, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa lodged a written inquiry with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning the extradition procedure ongoing with regards to Mukhtar Ablyazov.