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VI. Vulnerability of Uzbek Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Kyrgyzstan

Most of the refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch described how they continue to live in fear even after arriving to Kyrgyzstan. While they are usually able to obtain registration from the Kyrgyz migration authorities and are generally granted refugee status by UNHCR, they believe that neither provides them sufficient protection.

These fears are well-founded, as the Kyrgyz government has repeatedly failed to adhere to its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which bars the return of refugees to countries where they face persecution, as well as its obligations under the Convention Against Torture, which absolutely prohibits the return of persons to places where they risk torture. The Kyrgyz government returned more than a dozen refugees and asylum seekers to Uzbekistan between 2005 and 2007, and at least five Uzbek asylum seekers have disappeared from Kyrgyzstan, at least two of them allegedly kidnapped by Uzbek security services.⁵⁸

Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies also conducted so-called counterterrorism sweeps, reportedly in consultation with their Uzbek counterparts, which resulted in the detention of a number of asylum seekers. One asylum seeker who had been detained in Kyrgyzstan afterwards told Human Rights Watch that the police had threatened to send him back to Uzbekistan, but released him after UNHCR intervened. Other detainees were also released.⁵⁹

The refugees feel particularly vulnerable in areas close to the Uzbek border, such as the cities of Osh and Jalalabat. Local organizations, as well as UNHCR, have repeatedly raised serious concerns about the safety of the Uzbek refugees and asylum seekers in Kyrgyzstan. UNHCR published a number of statements protesting the extradition of refugees to Uzbekistan where they face serious risks of torture,⁶⁰ as well as the “disappearances” of asylum seekers allegedly kidnapped by the Uzbek security forces.⁶¹ Whenever possible, UNHCR officials try to relocate newly-arrived Uzbeks from Osh and other regions bordering Uzbekistan, to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan’s capital), where they are at less risk of being kidnapped by Uzbek security services.

However, even in Bishkek refugees have little protection if the Uzbek authorities decide to pursue them through official channels.

One of the refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch, “Karim K.,” said that he moved from Osh to Bishkek in late 2005 after local police threatened to hand him over to Uzbekistan. However, Uzbek authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and submitted his name to the Interpol list of wanted criminals. In April 2007 a high-ranking Uzbek police officer went to Kyrgyzstan and visited the migration department of the Ministry of Interior and the prosecutor’s office. According to Karim K., the Uzbek officer then contacted one of Karim K.’s friends in Kyrgyzstan:

They told my friend to warn me not to even try to escape. They said, “We reached an agreement with the Kyrgyz side. They will catch him within the next couple of weeks and extradite him.” Shortly thereafter police came to the address where I was registered, but I had already moved to another place and was hiding. I continue to hide to this day, and never go outside alone.⁶²

Meanwhile, families that for various reasons had to remain in Osh, live in constant fear of being kidnapped by the Uzbek security services or otherwise forced to return. For example, at the time that Farida F. spoke to Human Rights Watch, she had been living in Osh for nine months after her escape from Uzbekistan, and during that time she had hardly ever left the apartment, and none of her four children attended school or daycare. She said,

I am too scared to let my children go anywhere. You know Uzbek security service [officials] are all over the place, and Kyrgyz authorities also have handed some refugees over. I know that back home the [authorities] are now pressuring my parents and my brother to find out where I am.⁶³

Mahmuda M. told Human Rights Watch that she had not told even her closest relatives in Andijan that she had fled to Kyrgyzstan to seek asylum there. She told her family that she had left to study and was living with relatives, so that they would tell this to the authorities in the likely situation of being questioned about her whereabouts.⁶⁴

The situation for refugees in Osh may further deteriorate after an August 2007 agreement between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz Ministries of Interior to extend their cooperation and to create “branches” in Osh and Andijan. The ministries explained that Uzbek law enforcement officers will be working on the territory of Osh, while their Kyrgyz colleagues will work in Andijan to “consolidate the two countries’ efforts against criminals, terrorists, and religious extremists.”⁶⁵ Human Rights Watch has not yet been able to assess the impact that this cooperation may have on the security of Uzbek refugees in the border region.

Given the continued efforts of the Uzbek authorities to return refugees, and the apparent eagerness of the Kyrgyz government to assist in the process despite its international obligations, this move raises serious concerns regarding the safety of refugees on Kyrgyz territory.

Risk of Forced Return from Other CIS Countries

While it is beyond the scope of this report to examine in depth the treatment of Uzbek refugees in other countries in the Central Eurasia region, the risk they face of forced return from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan has been widely documented.⁶⁶

From 2005 through May 2008 each of these countries has forcibly returned—or attempted to do so—dozens of Uzbek refugees and asylum seekers, chiefly through extradition, expulsion, and deportation. The majority of the returnees stood accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic organization that is banned in Uzbekistan, or other groups deemed “fundamentalist” by the Uzbek government. About two dozen were accused of involvement in the Andijan events.

A prominent example in Russia was the arrest in May 2005 of 14 men in Ivanovo, a city approximately 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, upon an Uzbek government extradition request; 12 of the men are Uzbek nationals. In documents submitted to the Russian government the Uzbek government accused the 14 of involvement in the Andijan uprising.⁶⁷ Even after UNHCR granted the men refugee status, and after they were accepted for resettlement by a European country, the Russian government made clear its intention to extradite them. On March 5, 2007, the men were released from custody, and in August 2007 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued an injunction to stay the extradition. On April 24, 2008, the ECtHR ruled that extraditing the refugees to Uzbekistan would constitute a violation of Russia’s obligation under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights not to return individuals to countries where they face a risk of torture.

Other Uzbek asylum seekers in Russia were less fortunate. According to Civic Assistance, a well-respected Russian NGO working with refugees, IDPs, and asylum seekers, from 2003 to 2008 Russian authorities unlawfully returned seven Uzbek nationals suspected of involvement in Islamic “fundamentalist” organizations to Uzbekistan. A prominent case was that of Rustam Muminov, whom Moscow authorities detained on October 17, 2006 and deported on October 24, minutes after the ECtHR had issued an injunction against the deportation. In January 2007 an Uzbek court sentenced Muminov to five-and-a-half-years’ imprisonment on charges of involvement in a “fundamentalist” organization and anti-state activities.⁶⁸

Following the Andijan events dozens of Uzbeks fled to Ukraine, where there was already a small but growing community of Uzbek asylum seekers. Their vulnerability to detention and forced return became pronounced when Ukrainian authorities in February 2006 deported to Uzbekistan 10 asylum seekers, all of whom the Uzbek government alleged were involved in the Andijan events.⁶⁹ Three of the men were convicted on charges related to their alleged involvement in the Andijan events, and all were convicted on charges related to their alleged involvement in the Akramia movement.⁷⁰

Since the late 1990s dozens of Uzbeks have fled to Kazakhstan to escape religious persecution. By August 2007 more than 250 had applied for asylum with UNHCR. Their vulnerability has been highlighted by several instances since 2005 when Kazakh authorities detained refugees and asylum seekers. In some cases the Kazakh government authorities alleged the individuals were violating residence rules, and in other cases they were acting in response to Uzbek government extradition requests. To date, no asylum seekers have been extradited, thanks in large measure to UNCHR’s interventions.

Kazakh authorities have resorted to extra-legal measures to return individuals to Uzbekistan. In late November 2005 Kazakh authorities forcibly returned at least nine Uzbek men who had fled persecution in Uzbekistan, four of whom were registered with UNHCR. They were kidnapped, presumably by Kazakh agents, and taken in secret to Uzbekistan. Upon their return almost all of the men were tried and sentenced on various charges related to “religious extremism.” In addition, a large group of Uzbeks are believed to have been forcibly returned in a similar manner from Kazakhstan in December 2005.⁷¹ The men had not registered as asylum seekers and it is not known whether they had the intention of doing so. They were all wanted on religious extremism charges for their alleged affiliation with Akramia and in connection with the Andijan uprising. They were all convicted and given prison sentences ranging from four to 20 years.