The brother of a Chechen who escaped from the SVO zone expressed hope for human rights activists to intervene.

Kazakh authorities are trying to force Chechen native Zelimkhan Murtazov, who has been living at Astana airport for a month, to leave the transit zone on his own. But due to the lack of a passport, he can only fly to countries where there is a high risk of extradition to Russia, his brother indicated, reporting that he has turned to human rights organizations for help.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, Chechen native Zelimkhan Murtazov, who arrived in Astana in December, has been in the airport's transit zone for more than a month. Kazakhstan has refused to consider his asylum request. According to his brother, Zelimkhan deserted from military service, so returning to Russia threatens him with imprisonment and torture.

Last night, a voice chat took place in the Telegram channel of Tumso Abdurakhmanov*, a blogger living in Europe and opposed to the Chechen authorities, dedicated to the story of Zelimkhan Murtazov, who was stuck for a month in the transit zone of Astana airport.
The connection was poor, there were interruptions, and the participants were unable to ask questions by voice, and Zelimkhan himself was unable to participate in the chat.

"In principle, such a possibility was possible, since the person was not at home, but at the airport, where there were many risks of communication breakdown. And therefore, his brother Turpal Murtazov, who lives in Europe, backed him up," Tumso* said.

He recalled the story of Zelimkhan Murtazov. According to him, Zelimkhan was in "First somewhere in the South Battalion, I think, then transferred to the West Battalion. As soon as he had the opportunity to "jump out" of there, he took his own risk and went through Kazakhstan to Turkey. But unfortunately, Turkey didn't let him in; he was deported back, not to Russia, but to Kazakhstan, because he had arrived from Kazakhstan—that was the Turks' logic. They deported him to Kazakhstan on the formal grounds stated by Turkish border guards that he had a fake passport. Upon arriving in Astana, Zelimkhan learned that his passport was still in the Turks' possession; that is, they had apparently confiscated it, believing it to be fake. Zelimkhan was told that all his documents had been handed over to the pilot, but when the pilot handed them over in Kazakhstan, his passport was not among them," Tumso said*.

According to him, Kazakhstan's border service is now not letting Zelimkhan in without a passport.

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"They also rejected his request for political asylum, formally explaining that he is allegedly not yet in Kazakhstan, no matter how absurd that may sound, and that he is supposedly in the international zone of the airport, which does not yet count as having entered Kazakhstan," Tumso said*.

He noted that the Kazakh authorities are essentially trying to "squeeze out" Murtazov so that he fled on his own.

"He can hardly go anywhere without "The choice is very limited. Of the direct flights from Kazakhstan to countries where you can fly without a foreign passport, just with a domestic Russian passport, there are only flights to Kyrgyzstan. There are no direct flights from Kazakhstan to Armenia, so they are trying to send him to Kyrgyzstan, but he refuses," Tumso explained*.

After the publicity, residents of Astana began to support Murtazov

Zelimkhan's brother, Turpal Murtazov, said on air that his brother's desire to leave the war zone had been there for a long time, but it only came true in 2025.

"Zelimkhan was first in the "South Akhmat" battalion, then "West Akhmat", and all this time he was there, on Ukrainian territory. But then he managed to move to Kazakhstan, from Kazakhstan he flies to Turkey, the Turks are not letting him in, and back They're deporting him to Kazakhstan, and now, having arrived in Kazakhstan without a foreign passport, he should be able to enter Kazakhstan with his internal passport. But the local border guards aren't letting him in. The thing is, his documents were given to the border guards in Astana, and they searched his phone, realized he had deserted, and therefore said they couldn't let him in for 'national security reasons,'" said Turpal Murtazov.

A lot of people are helping, a lot of people have paid attention to this, sending money, food, and a lot of other things, and they also gave him a change of clothes.

He also reported on Zelimkhan's living conditions.

"He sleeps on these benches. At first, he went to cafes and shops in the transit zone once a day. He ordered from them, and a friend of ours in Kazakhstan paid for it online, and he would go and pick it up. Now, after the publicity, the situation has improved; a lot of people are helping, a lot of people have taken notice, sending money, food, and a lot of other things, and they also gave him a change of clothes. One woman also picked up his things, washed them, and returned them. As for where he washes, if I'm not mistaken, he's only had three baths this whole time; they took him to a shower somewhere at the airport. "There's also a mosque (a prayer room in the airport's transit zone) with a restroom. He washes and can pray in the mosque," Turpal Murtazov said.

He clarified that all assistance is provided through airport staff and border guards, as Zelimkhan cannot leave the transit zone.

"People come to the ground floor and give things to airport staff, who hand them over to the border guards, who take the things they brought him and return them. This has been going on in this format for a month now. But the lawyers currently handling Zelimkhan's case in Kazakhstan cannot speak with him in person," Turpal explained.

The Kazakh authorities are suggesting that he go to Armenia, Belarus, or Kyrgyzstan. But we don't think this is advisable. It's the same as flying directly to Russia.

According to him, staying in the transit zone is more acceptable for Zelimkhan than leaving for a country from which he would be deported to Russia.

"The Kazakh authorities are suggesting going to Armenia, Belarus, or Kyrgyzstan. But we don't think this is practical. It's the same as flying directly to Russia. Therefore, we don't think it's safe for us. We hope to transport him to Europe. So far, there haven't been any international wanted notices for him. And until they do, we're trying to ensure he's given a corridor. We ask that you allow him to fly to a safe country. He fled precisely to avoid participating in the "SVO." Turpal said, stating that he had contacted an international human rights organization.

Zelimkhan will turn 36 on February 27. He is divorced and has two sons, Turpal Murtazov also reported.

*  is included in the register of foreign agents.

** The activities of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.