This article is also available in: Русский (Russian) Uzbek
One of the most well-known MMA fighters from Uzbekistan, Makhmud Muradov, has lost the ability to stay in the Czech Republic for an extended period. According to the country’s Ministry of the Interior, he poses a threat to national security due to his connections with the criminal underworld, as reported by Czech media.
Muradov requested permission from Czech authorities for a temporary stay, which is issued for a period of up to five years. In his case, the request was justified by the fact that he has a daughter with a Czech citizen. However, the Ministry of the Interior and the court rejected his request.
The Ministry of the Interior made this decision based on a classified report from the National Center for Combating Organized Crime, which claims that Muradov maintains long-term connections with members of the Balkan organized crime groups. It is alleged that he established these ties shortly after arriving in the Czech Republic.
The athlete’s lawyer, Marek Čechovský, argues that Muradov’s defense is limited because the ministry did not provide him with detailed information about the accusations. According to the lawyer, this violates the law.
Muradov has previously admitted that he knows people from Serbia and Albania. He stated that he primarily encounters them at the gym. As a public figure, he claims that it is common for people to approach him at the gym, in restaurants, or on the street, asking for a photo or a brief conversation. However, he says he cannot vet them for “reliability.”
“I don’t collaborate with the mafia, I don’t know anyone from the mafia. Not Czech, not Balkan, not Russian, nor any other Eastern mafia. I challenge the police or the ministry to tell me who I’m in contact with or who I’m supposed to be working for, and I will either admit it or explain it,” said the fighter.
Now, after the court ruling, Muradov must leave the Czech Republic. In the future, he will only be able to stay in the country on a visa that allows him to spend no more than 90 days in the Czech Republic within a six-month period. Once this limit is reached, he will have to leave again, after which he can return on the mentioned visa.
The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article