Russia Refuses Asylum for 'Ivanovo Uzbeks'
Russia Refuses Asylum for 'Ivanovo Uzbeks'
Russia has refused to grant asylum to 12 political dissidents the Uzbek authorities claim are Islamic extremists who orchestrated the events in Andijan in 2005. NBCentralAsia observers say Moscow is trying to protect its interests in the region by appeasing Uzbekistan.
On May 31, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial said that the 13 Uzbek nationals in Ivanovo accused trying to mount a coup in Andijan had been refused political asylum in Russia.
All 13 were arrested by Russian police in Ivanovo in June 2005.
On May 13, 2005, Uzbek government troops opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Andijan, killing hundreds of people. According to the authorities, most of the protesters were members of Islamic terrorist groups trying to overthrow the government, but other witnesses say they were locals demanding a fair trial for several imprisoned businessmen.
Last summer, the Russian authorities said they were going to hand 12 of the Uzbeks over to Uzbekistan even though all had been granted refugee status by the United Nations, but their extradition was suspended when the European Court for Human Rights reviewed their cases. In early March 2007, a court in Ivanovo decided to release 12 of the Uzbeks because they had been held for the maximum length of time allowed before a trial must be called.
NBCentralAsia observers say that Russia does not want to risk its political and economic interests in Uzbekistan by granting them temporary asylum.
“Russia has no problem with extraditing a few citizens of another state if it gains much more in return, like access to gas deposits or military bases,” said human rights activist Yunus Sabirov.
NBCentralAsia observer Alisher Afzal says Russia’s position on the Ivanovo Uzbeks is wholly predictable – it has ignored the human rights arguments. “What’s important for Russia is geopolitical security – maintaining the loyalty of a region in which it has many interests. So Russia has to behave the same way to this important neighbour,” he said.
Legal expert Rustam Nabiev says that by refusing to grant asylum to the Ivanovo Uzbeks, “Russia is fully aware that it is putting their lives at serious risk”. Moscow will also be aware that it is in breach of the 1999 Istanbul convention which gives third countries the right to intervene when an individual’s human rights are under threat.
“Under the Istanbul convention, human rights are not the domestic affair of individual states, and any third country has the right to intervene. Uzbekistan and Russia are parties to this treaty, so the international community has a right to intervene and save these people,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On May 31, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial said that the 13 Uzbek nationals in Ivanovo accused trying to mount a coup in Andijan had been refused political asylum in Russia.
All 13 were arrested by Russian police in Ivanovo in June 2005.
On May 13, 2005, Uzbek government troops opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Andijan, killing hundreds of people. According to the authorities, most of the protesters were members of Islamic terrorist groups trying to overthrow the government, but other witnesses say they were locals demanding a fair trial for several imprisoned businessmen.
Last summer, the Russian authorities said they were going to hand 12 of the Uzbeks over to Uzbekistan even though all had been granted refugee status by the United Nations, but their extradition was suspended when the European Court for Human Rights reviewed their cases. In early March 2007, a court in Ivanovo decided to release 12 of the Uzbeks because they had been held for the maximum length of time allowed before a trial must be called.
NBCentralAsia observers say that Russia does not want to risk its political and economic interests in Uzbekistan by granting them temporary asylum.
“Russia has no problem with extraditing a few citizens of another state if it gains much more in return, like access to gas deposits or military bases,” said human rights activist Yunus Sabirov.
NBCentralAsia observer Alisher Afzal says Russia’s position on the Ivanovo Uzbeks is wholly predictable – it has ignored the human rights arguments. “What’s important for Russia is geopolitical security – maintaining the loyalty of a region in which it has many interests. So Russia has to behave the same way to this important neighbour,” he said.
Legal expert Rustam Nabiev says that by refusing to grant asylum to the Ivanovo Uzbeks, “Russia is fully aware that it is putting their lives at serious risk”. Moscow will also be aware that it is in breach of the 1999 Istanbul convention which gives third countries the right to intervene when an individual’s human rights are under threat.
“Under the Istanbul convention, human rights are not the domestic affair of individual states, and any third country has the right to intervene. Uzbekistan and Russia are parties to this treaty, so the international community has a right to intervene and save these people,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
