Kazakhstan has refused to consider an asylum request from a Chechen serviceman.

Zelimkhan Murtazov, a native of Chechnya who arrived in Astana in December, has been held in the airport's transit zone for over a month while his asylum application is processed. According to his brother, Zelimkhan deserted from military service, so returning to Russia threatens him with imprisonment and torture.

Murtazov, 35, has been in the Astana airport's transit zone for two months now, since December 26, 2025. Kazakh authorities refused to allow him into the country or process the asylum application he attempted to submit at the airport.

The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights reported on its website on December 30 that "a Russian deserter was abandoned at Astana airport." The organization's statement did not name the man or indicate his Chechen origin.

“As a deserter who fled his homeland, M. fears criminal prosecution at home. Returning to Russia, he fears, in addition to criminal prosecution, would also result in other forms of reprisals related to his refusal to continue military service,” the publication states. Human rights activists have contacted Kazakhstani authorities, asking them to register this man’s asylum application.

On January 27, human rights activist Roza Dunaeva reported on her Facebook page* that “a Chechen asylum seeker has been detained for over a month in the transit zone of Astana International Airport.” At the time, she only provided the man’s first name, Zelimkhan.

“He was denied asylum, but he was neither released nor deported. This constitutes de facto detention, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and a serious violation of Kazakhstan's international obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement. Denying asylum without providing a safe alternative is a gross violation of international law,” she wrote.

Zelimkhan Murtazov fled service in the war zone in Ukraine, traveled to Kazakhstan, and from there flew to Turkey, but was deported back to Kazakhstan. He then found himself stuck in the transit zone of Astana Airport; he was also denied entry into Kazakhstan, his brother, Turpal Murtazov, said on January 30 on the YouTube channel “FREEДOM.Kavkaz.”

According to Turpal Murtazov, who lives in France, returning to Russia would threaten his brother with imprisonment and torture. He recalled that Zelimkhan had deserted and expressed confidence that the Russian and Chechen authorities "will not forgive him for this."

In Kazakhstan, human rights activists continue to appeal the denial of Zelimkhan Murtazov's asylum application, but the authorities' position is that he is not in the country, and his release from the transit zone into Kazakhstan is prohibited "in the interests of national security," the publication "Vot Tak"* reported today, citing lawyer Artur Alkhastov.

The publication notes that Zelimkhan Murtazov's profile as a participant in the military operations against Ukraine is available on the Ukrainian website "Mirotvorets." According to this entry, Murtazov was enlisted before the announcement of mobilization in Russia, on August 11, 2022.

"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that at the end of December 2025, the commission for reviewing asylum applications in Kazakhstan refused to grant Mansur Movlaev refugee status. This decision was appealed, and Movlaev's defense team also sent his appeals to the relevant UN structures with a request to suspend his extradition to Russia. On January 30, it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan decided to extradite Chechen native Mansur Movlaev to Russian security forces; this decision was also appealed.

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** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.