Gaforov, Abdurazok
Who, Why and How exiled: In 2005, several people were arrested, some of which attested that Gaforov was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir and had printed various materials for it. He denied that this was true, but was arrested in Tajikistan in October 2005. He eventually escaped from custody in May 2006 and fled Tajikistan. He claims to have been tortured over a three-month period in the basement of a building used by the Tajikistani security services. He moved to Kyrgyzstan in December 2006 and entered Russia in May 2007. (ECHR,2010)
Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests): Pursued due to alleged membership of extremist religious group Hizb ut-Tahrir. Charged in 2006 with membership of a criminal organisation banned owing to its extremist activities, incitement to religious and other hatred and public appeals to overthrow the constitutional order and to engage in extremist activities. Following his escape from custody, he was put on a wanted list. (ECHR, 2010)
Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition): Arrested in Moscow on 5 August 2008 as his name appeared on an international arrest warrant. On 11 September 2008, the Tajikistani Prosecutor General’s office submitted an extradition request to Russia based on Abdurazok’s alleged membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir. On 30 December 2008 the Deputy General Prosecutor of Russia ordered his extradition to Tajikistan. Abdurazok Gaforov appealed this decision in the courts, but the appeal was dismissed finally by the Supreme Court of Russia in June 2009. He was released in April 2010 as the time-limits for his detention had expired. The extradition process was halted whilst the case was taken to the ECHR, who concluded that implementation of the extradition order would give rise to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention as Gaforov would face a real risk of ill-treatment if extradited to Tajikistan. (ECHR, 2010)
Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident): Applied for asylum in Russia in October 2008 initially, but his requests were repeatedly denied (ECHR, 2010).
Current status: Unknown.
Legal sources: European Court of Human Rights, Case of Gaforov v. Russia. Judgment, October 21, 2010. [Online]. Available at: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-101283.