Belarusian authorities have decided not to extradite opposition activist and journalist Farhod Odinayev to Tajikistan, where he is wanted for alleged membership in a banned organization and supporting extremism.
The Belarusian human rights organization Human Constanta said on November 5 that the Prosecutor-General's Office had rejected a request by Tajik authorities to extradite the 42-year-old Odinayev.
Nasta Loyka of Human Constanta told RFE/RL that Odinayev will most likely be sent to Russia, the country from which he arrived to Belarus.
Odinayev was detained by Belarusian migration authorities at Tajikistan's request on September 25 while on his way to the Polish capital, Warsaw, to attend a human rights conference.
Human Constanta said in October that Odinayev risked torture or other ill-treatment if extradited to Tajikistan.
Eleven international human rights groups had urged the Belarusian authorities not to extradite Odinayev to Tajikistan.
Odinayev, who holds Tajik and Russian passports, used to belong to the banned Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT) and for several months in 2013 led Safo TV, an opposition television channel based in Moscow. The channel was shut down by Russian authorities the same year.
The IRPT was labeled an extremist and terrorist group and banned in 2015. Dozens of IRPT officials and supporters have been prosecuted and many of them imprisoned.
