Podgorica, (MINA) - The Podgorica High Court released Kazakh women’s rights activist Dinara Smailova pending trial, a day after she was arrested in Montenegro.

As reported by Radio Free Europe, the court ordered the confiscation of Smailova’s passport.

She was arrested in Budva on Monday.

“D.S. was arrested on the order of an investigative judge of the Podgorica High Court, based on a request for extradition to Kazakhstan to conduct criminal proceedings against her”, said the police.

In December 2023, the court in Kazakhstan issued an arrest warrant for the head of the organization NeMolchiKZ, which fights against domestic and sexual violence.

Kazakh authorities charge Smailova with fraud, breach of privacy and spreading false information, for which she faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison.

Smailova is a vocal critic of the Kazakh authorities, over its handling of protection of women and children from sexual and domestic violence.

Smailova has been living in self-imposed exile for years, and has been residing in Montenegro since 2023.

In October last year, the Council for Civilian Oversight of Police Work warned the Minister Danilo Saranovic that Smailova faced potential extradition to Kazakhstan and that that country “like Russia”, in exerting increased pressure on human rights defenders.

The NGOs Human Rights Action (HRA) and the Center for Women’s Rights (CZP) called on the Ministry of the Interior to promptly address Smailova’s asylum request, taking into consideration the concerning state of human rights in Kazakhstan when making the decision.