Aqylbek Muratbai

Aqylbek Muratbai, a Karakalpak activist living in Kazakhstan, was arrested at his home in Almaty on February 15, 2024, at the Uzbek government’s request and charged with “public calls to violence” and “production or demonstration of materials containing a threat to public safety.” An Almaty court initially ordered him held for 40 days while Kazakhstan considered his extradition, and he remained in pre-trial detention for a year before being released on February 15, 2025. Still, he remains on Uzbekistan’s wanted list and faces a lengthy sentence if extradited.