DUSHANBE, March 16, 2013, Asia-Plus — A court in Kiyev’s Shevchenko district must decide the further destiny of former Tajik Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov, who was detained at the Kiev airport on February 5, today.
Ukrainian media sources report that the Shevchenko district court must decide today whether Abdullojonov will be extradited to Tajikistan or will be released.
Representatives from the Ukraine Prosecutor-General’s Office reportedly did not provided documents confirming that Abdullojonov was granted political asylum in the United States in 1999.
According to Ukrainian media outlets, Andriy Fedur, the lawyer of Abdumalik Abdullojonov in Ukraine, has repeatedly stressed that his client arrived in Ukraine legally, having an individual code in his documents, which confirms that he was granted political asylum in the United States.
Besides, Fedur has stressed that Abdullojonov is not the citizen of Tajikistan any more because he lost Tajikistan’s citizenship long ago and now lives permanently in the Unite States.
We will recall that Abdumalik Abdullojonov was arrested at Borispol Airport near Kiev on February 5 on an international warrant after arriving from the United States.
The Borispol court ruled on February 7 that former Tajik Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov can be held in detention for up to 40 days while authorities await documents from Dushanbe regarding his possible extradition.
Abdumalik Abdullojonov, who challenged Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in the 1994 presidential election, is accused by the Tajik authorities of involvement in a 1996 assassination attempt on President Rahmon. He is also accused of backing a 1998 militant attack in Sughd Province, and of organized crime and terrorism-related offenses.
Abdumalik Abdullojonov denies these charges. He was granted political asylum in the United States in June 1999 and for the past decade, Abdullojonov has lived in the United States.
Amnesty International (AI) has written to the Ukrainian authorities urging them not to return former Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov to Tajikistan where “he would be at risk of torture and other grave human rights violations.” Amnesty International has also urged the Ukrainian authorities to immediately release Abdumalik Abdullojonov. A statement released by AI on March 4, in particular, notes that Amnesty International is concerned that, if extradited to Tajikistan, Abdumalik Abdullojonov will face unfair trial and be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. The organization has called on the Ukrainian authorities to refuse any request from the Tajikistani authorities to extradite Abdumalik Abdullojonov, and to grant Abdumalik Abdullojonov access to a fair and impartial asylum procedure.
Oldrich Andrysek, the regional representative in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, voiced his support of Abdullojonov in February.
