Bulgaria must deny Turkmenistan’s extradition request for Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen dissident, and release him from detention immediately, Human Rights Watch said today.

We are writing to you as a matter of urgency to ask that Bulgaria decline a request made by the government of Turkmenistan for the extradition of Annadurdy Khajiev, a dual citizen of Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation, who was granted humanitarian status in Bulgaria on March 10, 2004. We are convinced that upon return to Turkmenistan Mr. Khajiev would face persecution due to his political affiliations and activities and would face an almost certain risk of torture or other ill-treatment in custody. We also urge you to release Mr. Khajiev from detention immediately.

Anticipated legal reforms in Bulgaria mark an important step toward improved control over the arms trade, Human Rights Watch and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee said today. The Bulgarian parliament is expected to vote shortly to adopt changes to the country's law on the foreign trade in weapons.

Human Rights Watch writes to E.U. foreign ministers urging them to incorporate measures to improve arms trade controls across Europe into the E.U.'s anti-terrorism strategy and assess arms trade practices, together with other political and security issues, when evaluating the progress of candidate countries toward E.U. accession.