DUSHANBE, Marc 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — Amnesty International (AI) is concerned over possible extradition of Tajik citizen Nizomkhon Jourayev from Russia to Tajikistan.
A statement released by Amnesty International on March 22, in particular, says Nizomkhon Jourayev, a citizen of Tajikistan, is facing extradition from Russia to Tajikistan despite having applied for asylum in the Russian Federation. “If returned to Tajikistan, Nizomkhon Jourayev is at risk of torture and ill-treatment.”
“One man, who had been extradited from Russia to Tajikistan, alleged to the Russian lawyer, who is dealing with Nizomkhon Jourayev’s case in Russia, that he had been threatened with rape by police in September 2008 in order to extract a “confession” against Nizomkhon Jourayev. During the trial proceedings several of the accused gave accounts of how they had been tortured, including with electric shocks.”
“Despite such information, the Russian authorities detained Nizomkhon Jourayev in August 2010 in Moscow upon an extradition request from the authorities in Tajikistan and in February 2011, the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation decided that he could be extradited,” said the statement, “Nizomkhon Jourayev has applied for asylum in Russia. His first appeal was turned down and he is currently appealing against this decision. He has also appealed against the decision of the Prosecutor General to extradite him. There is a real danger that he might be extradited to Tajikistan while his appeal is pending.”
We will recall that ex-member of the Sughd legislature and the former director general of the chemical plant in the northern city of Isfara, Nizomkhon Jourayev, detained by Moscow law enforcement authorities last year, has attempted to get status of asylum seeker in Russia.
Abdusami Dadaboyev, head of the international cooperation department within the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Tajikistan, says that according to information received, Jourayev has applied for asylum to Russia’s Federal Migration Service (MFS)’ office for Moscow, but his application has been refused. “However, the term of holding of him under arrest in Moscow has been extended until September this year,” Dadaboyev noted. According to him, negotiations between Tajik and Russian law enforcement authorities on extradition of Jourayev to Tajikistan are under way.
In the meantime, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Services on March 10 quoted Abdusami Dadaboyev as saying that Russian officials have told Tajikistan they will not extradite Nizomkhon Jourayev to Tajikistan until Russia”s Federal Migration Service rules on his asylum request.
As it had been reported earlier, Moscow police detained Nizomkhon Jourayev on August 27, 2010 after three years of evading arrest. Nizomkhon Jourayev has been wanted by Tajik police since 2007. He was a successful businessman who owned the chemical plant in Isfara. In 2007 investigations were launched into his financial activities, and later in 2008 he was officially accused of ordering assassination of former Deputy Prosecutor-General Tolib Boboyev in 1999.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Nizomkhon Jourayev under the provisions of eight articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 104 – murder; Article 185 – organization of illegal armed formation; Article 186 – banditry; Article 195 – illegal storage of weapons; Article 245 – embezzlement or misappropriation; Article 262 – money laundering; Article 292 – tax evasion; and Article 340 – document forgery. Nizomkhon Jourayev left the country before his arrest warrant was issued.
On June 9, 2009, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced 31 associates of Nizomkhon Jourayev to long jail terms. They were sentenced to prison terms between 11 and 25 years, while a prosecutor in the trial of them asked for shorter terms for them.
According to Tajik law enforcement authorities, Nizomkhon Jourayev and his two brothers, Fakhriddin and Tolib, were involved in organizing the assassination of former Deputy Prosecutor-General Tolib Boboyev in 1999.
Jourayev and his associates were also charged with setting up an organized criminal group, tax evasion, and a number of financial crimes.
