[52] Human Rights Watch interview with Sevara S., July 15, 2006. In November 2005 at least nine Uzbek nationals seeking refuge from religious persecution were forcibly returned from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan with any legal process. The governments of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have denied that the men were detained in Kazakhstan, though eyewitness testimony given to Human Rights Watch confirms that they were initially detained in Kazakhstan. For more details see: Letter from Human Rights Watch to Nursultan Nazarbaev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, "Letter Details Kazakh Involvement in Forced Return of Uzbeks", March 28, 2006, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/29/kazakh13092.htm and "Kazakhstan: Investigate Forced Return of Uzbeks", Human Rights Watch news release, March 29, 2006, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/29/kazakh13093.htm.