Kazakhstan definitively denies asylum to St. Petersburg activist Yulia Yemelyanova

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Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office suspended the extradition procedure to Russia for activist and former volunteer at Navalny’s St. Petersburg headquarters Yulia Yemelyanova @meduza\news Open site | mirror | telegram ↓

Kazakhstan has definitively denied asylum to St. Petersburg activist Yulia Yemelyanova

A cassation court in Astana has definitively denied asylum to Russian citizen Yulia Yemelyanova, a former volunteer at Navalny’s St. Petersburg headquarters. She has been under arrest for more than a year because of an extradition request from Russia. Yemelyanova may now be sent to Russia, the human rights project Kovcheg reported.

Yemelyanova left Russia in July 2022, after a criminal case against her was submitted to a court in St. Petersburg. The activist was accused of stealing a mobile phone. The Anti-War Committee of Russia called the case fabricated.

Yemelyanova was detained in September 2025 at Almaty airport, through which she was flying in transit. In early 2026, it became known that Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office had approved the activist’s extradition to Russia. The procedure was suspended while Yemelyanova’s application for refugee status was being considered.

@meduzalive