The Cassation Court for Administrative Cases in Astana dismissed Yemelyanova's complaint against the denial of asylum, according to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights. The ruling entered into force.
The Anti-War Committee of Russia, which represented Yemelyanova in court, said it presented arguments about the risks of political persecution and torture if she were returned to Russia. The court found there was insufficient evidence of those risks. The committee said nothing now prevents Kazakhstan from extraditing Yemelyanova.
The human rights project Kovcheg said the activist could be taken to Russia at any moment. The exact date and time of the extradition have not been disclosed.
Yemelyanova was detained at Almaty airport on August 31, 2025, while transiting to another country. She has since been held in a pre-trial detention center on the outskirts of Almaty under extradition arrest.
In Russia, she faces a criminal case over the theft of a mobile phone from a taxi driver under Part 2 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code. Yemelyanova denies guilt. Human rights advocates note that the theft report appeared only a month later, and that she first saw the phone at a police station.
Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General's Office granted Russia's extradition request, and the order was served on Yemelyanova on January 29. Kazakhstan's Supreme Court had suspended the extradition process pending consideration of her asylum application.
In a letter to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Yemelyanova wrote of the "bias of Russian law enforcement and justice" and of "connivance" by their Kazakh counterparts, according to The Insider. She asked for a fair trial or for the Prosecutor General's Office's extradition decision to be overturned. According to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, the appeal to the president remains her last hope.
Yemelyanova took part in the Emigration for Action and Just Help projects, as well as in the work of the St. Petersburg headquarters of Navalny's organization.
The Anti-War Committee said Kazakhstan has already begun the process of coordinating the extradition to Russia of Chechen activist Mansur Movlayev. According to the committee, Movlayev has been under extradition arrest in Almaty since May 2025, and in July a court extended his detention by five months, until January 13, 2027. Russia is seeking his extradition on extortion charges, which the activist calls fabricated. In September, he twice attempted suicide in the pre-trial detention center.