Kazakh authorities have deported twenty-five-year-old IT specialist Oleksandr Kachkurkin to Russia, where he was immediately detained and charged with high treason for allegedly transferring money to Ukraine.
On Jan. 28, police in Almaty filed two administrative reports against Kachkurkin – for crossing the street at an unauthorized location and for smoking a hookah indoors – according to the Monday, Feb. 1 Telegram post by the human rights project Perviy Otdel.
Human rights defenders say both reports were fabricated. Based on them, police petitioned a court to deport Kachkurkin for what authorities described as “disrespect for the laws and sovereignty” of Kazakhstan. The entire process took only a few hours, while similar procedures typically last weeks.
Following the court ruling, Kachkurkin was deported to Russia and detained onboard the aircraft upon arrival. A Moscow court later ordered his arrest in a criminal case on charges of high treason for money transfers to Ukraine. He faces a potential sentence of 12 to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
According to calculations by Perviy Otdel, around 10% of all cases opened in 2025 on charges of high treason, espionage, or “confidential cooperation with a foreign state” were related to financial transfers to Ukraine.
Human rights defenders said they had sent inquiries to Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry and to the police department of Almaty’s Bostandyk District, but had received no response as of publication.
Moscow has kept an iron grip on public discourse, harshly punishing anything it deems pro-Ukrainian.
In 2024, US-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina was charged with treason for donating around $50 to a Ukrainian charity and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She was subsequently released during a high-profile prisoner swap between the US and Russia.