DUSHANBE, December 10, Asia-Plus – A statement released by Amnesty International (AI) on December 6 notes that pm on December 3 Tajikistani asylum seeker Ismon Azimov was abducted from the Center for temporary placement of immigrants in the Russian oblast of Tver.

It is feared that he could have been illegally transferred to Tajikistan where he will be at risk of torture and an unfair trial, AI says.   

At around 8:00 pm on 3 December five unidentified men, two of them wearing police uniforms, arrived at the Center for temporary placement of immigrants, located approximately 350 kilometers m away from Moscow. They reportedly told the Center watchwoman that they were from the police and ordered her to let them into the building.

According to the statement, they forcibly took Ismon Azimov out of his room, put him in a black Jeep and drove him away.  The administrators at the Center promptly called the police and informed the Federal Migration Service and Federal Security Service.  Investigation into abduction and search activities were initiated.  Ismon Azimov’s representatives were also promptly informed.

Ismon Azimov is an applicant to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) appealing against his extradition to Tajikistan.  On April 18, the ECtHR stated that returning Ismon Azimov to Tajikistan would breach Article 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  Having received news about Ismon Azimov’s abduction, his representatives immediately started to call and send faxes to the Representative of the Russian Federation at the ECtHR and the Head of the Border control service of the Federal Security Service, asking for urgent measures to prevent Ismon Azimov’s illegal transfer to Tajikistan as it would be contrary to the ECtHR’s judgment.  At this time Ismon Azimov’s representatives have not been informed of any progress into the search, and Ismon Azimov’s whereabouts remain unknown.

The Tajik authorities have accused Ismon Azimov of membership of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and requested his extradition from Russia due to his alleged involvement in military training and propaganda activities for the IMU in October 2007.  There are grounds to believe that the charges may be politically motivated.

Ismon Azimov was arrested in Russia on November 3, 2010.  After his arrest, he applied for asylum in Russia but his application was refused.  Since that time he has been fighting his extradition first, unsuccessfully, through the Russian justice system. He then took his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). On November 23, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ordered interim measures preventing his extradition pending substantive examination of his application and he remained in detention.  Around this time, officials from the security forces reportedly visited Ismon Azimov at night and pressurized him to return to Tajikistan “voluntarily,” and took photos of him, possibly in order to prepare a travel document as he had no passport.  Ismon Azimov refused to return “voluntarily.”

In early November 2012, Ismon Azimov’s defense lawyer received information that her client was due to be released from detention on November 2, 2012.  This unexpected news alarmed Russian NGOs and Amnesty International who issued public statements and Urgent Actions expressing concerns that Ismon Azimov would be at risk of abduction and forcible return to Tajikistan upon release. In the end Ismon Azimov was not released from detention.  Human rights observers believe that this decision was taken after NGOs issued public statements about the risk of Ismon Azimov being abducted.

Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concerns at the recurrence in recent years of incidents where Tajikistani asylum-seekers in Russia have been allegedly abducted and forcibly returned to Tajikistan.  For example, Savriddin Juraev was released from detention in Russia on May 20, 2011 and reportedly abducted on October 31, 2011.  On November 1, 2011 he reportedly flew from a Moscow airport to Tajikistan without possessing a passport - he had only a temporary asylum certificate with him.  On April 19, 2012 he was sentenced to a 26-year prison term, but he maintains his innocence.  He has also reported being tortured and ill-treated while in detention.