Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry comments on reports comedian Nurlan Saburov was banned from entering Russia

Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commented on reports claiming comedian Nurlan Saburov has been banned from entering Russia for 50 years.

“Regarding Kazakhstan citizen N. Saburov, we inform you that he or his legal representatives have not contacted the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Russia,” the ministry said.

The ministry added that it has not received any information from Russian competent authorities about Saburov’s alleged detention.
What happened
Earlier, media outlets reported that Saburov had been banned from entering Russia for 50 years, saying the decision was made “in the interests of national security”. At the time of publication, neither Russian agencies nor the comedian himself nor his representatives had publicly commented on the situation.
According to media reports, Saburov arrived overnight on February 6 at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on a flight from Dubai. After passing passport control, he was escorted to a separate room, where he was handed an official document stating he was prohibited from entering Russia.
Later, reports said Saburov refused a free deportation flight back to Dubai because, according to sources, one of the conditions for the flight was the use of handcuffs. As a result, he allegedly bought a ticket to Kazakhstan himself.