Shamsutdinov, Lutfullo

President Karimov immediately resorted to violence and ordered the military to suppress the demonstration by all possible means. 580 people managed to flee to Kyrgyzstan, 80 of whom were deported back to Uzbekistan by the Kyrgyz authorities. The remaining 500 were eventually resettled in Western countries thanks to support from the U.S. State Department, as well as the EU and UNHCR (Ilkhamov, 2015).

Gender: .
State of concern: .

Who, Why and How exiled:

The Uzbek human rights activist who published first-hand accounts of the Andijan massacre fled Uzbekistan to avoid persecution.

Category of exile: . (Definitions here.)
Alleged affiliation: 2005 Andijan Uprising.

Which stages experienced: Stage 1   Stage 2   not Stage 3. (Definitions here.)
Date of most serious incident: 2005.
Violence experienced: .

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

He is a human rights defender who reported on the Andijan massacre in 2005 (Ilkhamov, 2015).

He has been hunted since 2005 by the Uzbek authorities, who convinced INTERPOL to issue a warrant to detain him. Due to an INTERPOL alert, Lutfullo's life was put on hold for five years, unable to get a Green Card, and with it the right to work or travel in the US (Ilkhamov, 2015; CPJ, 2015).

In 2005, he fled with his family to Kazakhstan after Andijan events (Ferghana news, 2005).

Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition):

The Uzbek authorities accused him of participating in violent acts during the Andijan events (BBC, 2005)

Was caught up in what he called an ambush of a group of protesters by soldiers and police (The Seattle Times, 2005).

After his arrival in Almaty, he received refugee status and was due to leave for the United States (Ferghana news, 2005). However in 2005 he was detained by security officers in Kazakhstan with his family (Fergana news, 2005). The UNHCR intervened to stop his extradition to Uzbekistan (BBC, 2005).

International arrest warrant: .

Countries of transit, asylum and/or residence: .

Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident):

Received Asylum in the US (Ilkhamov, 2015).

Current status:

Resides in the US.


Press sources:

Alisher Ilkhamov,2015. "Ten Years after Uzbekistan’s Massacre, the Tragedy Continues to Unfold", 12 May, 2015. Open Society Foundation. [Online]. Available at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/ten-years-after-uzbekistan-s-massacre-tragedy-continues-unfold

Radio Free Europe, 2005. "Central Asia: Kazakhstan Is A New Destination For Uzbek Refugees", 3 August, 2005. [Online]. Available at https://www.rferl.org/a/1060382.html

Committee to Project Journalists, "Demonizing Dissidents: How INTERPOL is being abused by dictatorships", 9 Novemner, 2015.[Online]. Available at :https://cpj.org/events/2015/11/demonizing-dissidents-how-interpol-is-being-abused-by-dictatorships.php

The Seattle Times, 2005. "Uzbek protesters, soldiers in deadly clashes", 12 May, 2005. [Online]. Available at: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/uzbek-protesters-soldiers-in-deadly-clashes/

BBC, 2005. "ООН вступается за очевидца Андижана", 6 July, 2005. [Online]. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/news/newsid_4654000/4654663.stm

Ferghana news, 2005. "В Казахстане задержан узбекский правозащитник Лутфулло Шамсутдинов", 5 July, 2005. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fergananews.com/news.php?id=1377