Abdulkhakov, Murodzhon

Lawyers representing Central Asians before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) documented at least five additional cases of abduction in 2011–12. All five men had repeatedly sought asylum within the Russian legal system before turning to Strasbourg (RFE/RL, 2012). The cases are: Murodzhon Abdulkhakov, Sukhrob Koziyev, Nizomkhon Juraev, Savriddin Juraev, Rustam Zokhidov (RFE/RL, 2012).

Gender: .
State of concern: .

Who, Why and How exiled:

Lived in Andijan region of Uzbekistan. In 2009 Abdulkhakov, Murodzhon was forced to leave Uzbekistan due to his fear of being arrested for his religious beliefs.  He spent three months in Kazakhstan after this period of time, in November 2009 he arrived in Russia ( Kazan). With the aim to find work, in December 2009 he left for Ukraine through Moscow. On his arrival to Moscow he was arrested by the request of the Uzbek authorities demanding his extradition. In Uzbekistan he was charged with his affiliation with extremist groups ( Amnesty International, 2013)

 

 

 

Category of exile: . (Definitions here.)
Alleged affiliation: Jamaat, Wahhabism.

Which stages experienced: Stage 1   Stage 2   Stage 3. (Definitions here.)
Date of most serious incident: 2011.
Violence experienced: .

Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests):

Uzbekistan requested his extradition on 30 December 2009 (ECHR,2012).

Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition):

In 2009 Abdulkhakov, Murodzhon was detained in Moscow and charged in participating in an extremist organisation of a religious, separatist or fundamentalist nature and  of smuggling extremist materials, storing and distributing extremist materials, using religion with the aim of disturbing public peace and order, slandering the regime and calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order of Uzbekistan. He was also accused of being a member of the banned organisation "jamaat". (ECHR,2012)

Uzbekistan requested his extradition on 30 December 2009. On 31 December 2009, 19 January and 3 February 2010 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Security Service informed the Prosecutor General that the applicant did not hold Russian citizenship and there were no other obstacles to his extradition to Uzbekistan. Detention repeatedly extended pending extradition processes, but eventually released in June 2011 after the 18 month maximum detention period expired. Appeals against the extradition order were repeatedly denied and the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the extradition order in March 2011. However, proceedings were halted by request of the ECHR pending its consideration of his complaints. (ECHR, 2012).

Stage 3 details (attack/ abduction/ rendition/ torture/ assassination/ death):

On 23 August 2011, he was abducted by five or six people who forced him and two acquaintances (one was Sukhrob Koziyev, also in this database) into a van. They were beaten and had their hands burnt with a lighter. They drove to an airfield and were placed on a plane to Khujand in Tajikistan. Officers told him nobody knew he was in Tajikistan and threatened to kill him. Taken to Dushanbe on 26 August 2011 and placed in detention for his extradition to Uzbekistan. He was however released on 22 November 2011 and told that he had "served his prison sentence". He has been in hiding in Tajikistan ever since, with plans to return to Russia with the help of the UNHCR. Enquiries into the abduction are pending. The ECHR ruled that the allegation of Russian involvement with the kidnapping was credible. It also ruled that, if he returned to Russia, his extradition to Uzbekistan would violate Article 3 of the Convention (freedom from torture and ill-treatment). (ECHR,  2012)

International arrest warrant: .

Countries of transit, asylum and/or residence: , , .

Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident):

Applied for refugee status in Russia in December 2009, citing persecution in Uzbekistan for his religious beliefs. His application and appeals were repeatedly denied. Applied for temporary asylum in June 2011 but denied. Appeals pending as of October 2012. (ECHR,  2012)

Current status:

He is free and hiding in Tajikistan as of October 2012 (ECHR, 2012; Amnesty International 2013).

The European Court for Human Rights condemn the Russian authorities of breaching legal rights and ordered the Russian authorities to pay the application 30.000 € for moral dammage and  7800 € in respect to his costs and expenses (FerganaNews. 2012).

 


Legal sources:

Amnesty International (2013). 'ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЕ К ПЫТКАМ: Экстрадиция, принудительное возвращение и выдворение лиц в страны Центральной
Азии'. [Online]. Available at : https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/12000/eur040012013ru.pdf. [Accessed: 22.06.2017]

European Court of Human Rights (2012).  'Case of Abdulkhakov v. Russia. Judgment', October 2, (2012). [Online]. Available at:  http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-113287.[Accessed: 22.06.2017]

FerganaNews (2012). 'Европейский суд по правам человека признал Россию причастной к похищению узбекского беженц'. 03.10.2012 [Online]. Available at: http://www.fergananews.com/news/19548 [Accessed: 22.06.2017].

RFE/RL ( 2012).'Documented: Five Cases Of Abduction'. 14.11.2012.[Online].Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-russia-five-cases-of-abduction/24770771.html [Accessed: 22.06.2017]