On 24 December 2008, a court granted him a release on parole. This was the fifth attempt by Budanov's lawyers to obtain him a release on parole. Four applications before that were rejected. Victim's lawyers appealed to overturn the decision (thus the delay in release), but without success. Budanov was released on 15 January 2009, 15 months before completion of his conviction term. The decision was protested by Chechnya's human rights ombudsman, Nurdi Nukhazhiyev, who accused Russian judges of "double standards" with regard to Russians and Chechens.