Yulia Yemelyanova. Photo from social media.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan has suspended the extradition to Russia of Yulia Yemelyanova, a former activist with Alexei Navalny’s headquarters in St. Petersburg. The outlet Arbat.media reported this, citing the human rights organization Kovcheg.
The extradition process has been suspended pending review of Yemelyanova’s application for refugee status. The next court hearing in her case is scheduled for February 27.
Yemelyanova previously worked at Navalny’s St. Petersburg headquarters. In 2021, Russian authorities opened a criminal case against her on theft charges. Investigators alleged that she had stolen a mobile phone from a taxi driver in St. Petersburg. Yemelyanova denied the accusation, describing the case as fabricated. After the matter was referred to court, she left Russia.
On August 31 of last year, she was detained at Almaty International Airport. She had arrived in Kazakhstan in transit, traveling from Georgia to Vietnam. The activist was detained after being placed on an interstate wanted list by Russia. On February 11, reports indicated that Kazakhstan intended to extradite her to Russia. She is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center in Almaty.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan also suspended a decision to extradite Chechen activist Mansur Movlayev to Russia, leaving him in custody for an additional month while his refugee status request is under consideration.
* Alexei Navalny has been included by Russia’s financial monitoring authority in the register of individuals involved in extremist and terrorist activities.
