UzLand
10-21-2005, 01:04 PM
PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 62/029/2005
21 October 2005
UA 276/05 "Disappearance"/Fear of torture
UZBEKISTAN Marsel Isaev (m), aged 19, student
Student Marsel Isaev was forcibly returned to Uzbekistan on 12 October, from Tatarstan, in the Russian Federation. He has not been
seen or heard from since he was put on the plane, and the authorities in Uzbekistan have refused to confirm or deny that he is in custody.
He is thought to be held incommunicado in a detention centre in the capital, Tashkent, and he is at grave risk of torture.
Marsel Isaev had been studying in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan, since 2004. He was intending to apply for Russian citizenship, which
his parents and younger brother, who live in the Russian Federation, already have. On 6 September he was stopped on the street in
Kazan by officers from the Organized Crime Squad (UBOP), who asked to check his documents. The officers then took him to the UBOP
offices, telling him that they needed to check his registration details. They reportedly pressured him to testify against an acquaintance on
trial in Kazan accused of membership of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamic party. They told him that unless he testified that this
acquaintance had recruited him to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, his residence permit would not be renewed and he would be deported to Uzbekistan as
a suspected member of a "terrorist" organization. They confiscated his identity documents.
At the trial of his acquaintance, Marsel Isaev refused to give false evidence, and told the court how the UBOP officers had tried to
pressure him into doing so. His identity documents were returned to him on 13 September, after he had made numerous written
applications to the procurator’s office, but when Marsel Isaev then tried to obtain other supporting documents from the local authorities
needed to apply to renew his residence permit, due to expire on 19 September, he reportedly faced unexplained refusals and obstacles.
He was also reportedly summoned to the UBOP offices every day, on various pretexts, which meant he had less time to try to obtain the
supporting documents for his application.
Marsel Isaev was detained on 23 September; a court in Kazan issued an order for his forcible deportation to Uzbekistan for overstaying
his residence permit. He was taken to a deportation centre, where he was allegedly kept in filthy conditions and given no hot food. His
appeal against the deportation order was dismissed on 6 October. He applied for asylum with the Tatarstan Migration Department that
day, fearing that if returned to Uzbekistan he would be investigated as a suspected Hizb-ut-Tahrir member, and tortured. Marsel Isaev
has denied having any connection at all to Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
On 11 October he was interviewed by the Migration Department in the deportation centre. The following day the Department sent a letter
to his home in Kazan informing him that his application for asylum had been received and was now being processed. That morning he
was escorted to Kazan airport and put on a flight to Tashkent, reportedly in handcuffs.
Amnesty International will be expressing serious alarm to the Russian authorities over the deportation of Marsel Isaev, and the way he
was denied the right to pursue his claim for asylum. His deportation was in stark contravention of the principle of non-refoulement, which
prohibits the return of any person to a place where they would be at risk of torture, persecution or other forms of ill-treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has documented many cases of people who have been forcibly returned to Uzbekistan as alleged members of
banned Islamic groups, who have been tortured or sentenced to death after unfair trials. The Uzbekistani authorities have sought a
number of forcible returns since a demonstration in the city of Andizhan on 13 May. The security forces reportedly opened fire on the
thousands of mainly unarmed and peaceful demonstrators, killing scores of men, women and children. The Uzbekistani authorities have
denied that the security forces used excessive force, and have accused alleged members and supporters of an organization called
Akramia of attempting to organize a violent uprising in Andizhan. They have also linked Akramia to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which they consider a
“terrorist” organization. They have claimed that the "uprising" was planned abroad and that some of the organizers may be hiding in
Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Russian, Uzbek, English or your own
language: (Please note that it can be difficult to get through to fax numbers in Uzbekistan. If a voice answers please repeat
“fax” until the fax is switched on. Fax machines can be switched off outside office hours, GMT+5)
- expressing concern for the safety of Marsel Isaev and urging the authorities to immediately establish his whereabouts and allow him
access to his family and lawyer;
- urging the authorities to do all in their power to ensure that he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and that he has access to any
medical attention he may need;
- urging the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, unless he has been charged with a recognizably criminal offence.
APPEALS TO:
President
Islam A. KARIMOV
Rezidentsia prezidenta; ul. Uzbekistanskaia, 43, Tashkent 700163; UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 139 53 25
Email: presidents_office@press-service.uz
Salutation: Dear President Karimov
Minister of Internal Affairs
Zakirzhan ALMATOV
Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del RU, ul. Novruz, 1, Tashkent 700029; UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 133 89 34
Salutation: Dear Minister Almatov
General Procurator of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Rashidzhon KODIROV
Prokuratura Respubliki Uzbekistan, ul. Gulyamova, 66, 700047 g. Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 133 39 17/ 133 73 68
E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
Salutation: Dear Procurator General
COPIES TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Elior GANIEV, Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU, pl. Mustakillik, 5, Tashkent 700029, UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17
Email: letter@mfa.uz or rnews@mfa.uz
Salutation: Dear Minister Ganiev
and to diplomatic representatives of Uzbekistan accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 2
December 2005.
21 October 2005
UA 276/05 "Disappearance"/Fear of torture
UZBEKISTAN Marsel Isaev (m), aged 19, student
Student Marsel Isaev was forcibly returned to Uzbekistan on 12 October, from Tatarstan, in the Russian Federation. He has not been
seen or heard from since he was put on the plane, and the authorities in Uzbekistan have refused to confirm or deny that he is in custody.
He is thought to be held incommunicado in a detention centre in the capital, Tashkent, and he is at grave risk of torture.
Marsel Isaev had been studying in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan, since 2004. He was intending to apply for Russian citizenship, which
his parents and younger brother, who live in the Russian Federation, already have. On 6 September he was stopped on the street in
Kazan by officers from the Organized Crime Squad (UBOP), who asked to check his documents. The officers then took him to the UBOP
offices, telling him that they needed to check his registration details. They reportedly pressured him to testify against an acquaintance on
trial in Kazan accused of membership of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamic party. They told him that unless he testified that this
acquaintance had recruited him to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, his residence permit would not be renewed and he would be deported to Uzbekistan as
a suspected member of a "terrorist" organization. They confiscated his identity documents.
At the trial of his acquaintance, Marsel Isaev refused to give false evidence, and told the court how the UBOP officers had tried to
pressure him into doing so. His identity documents were returned to him on 13 September, after he had made numerous written
applications to the procurator’s office, but when Marsel Isaev then tried to obtain other supporting documents from the local authorities
needed to apply to renew his residence permit, due to expire on 19 September, he reportedly faced unexplained refusals and obstacles.
He was also reportedly summoned to the UBOP offices every day, on various pretexts, which meant he had less time to try to obtain the
supporting documents for his application.
Marsel Isaev was detained on 23 September; a court in Kazan issued an order for his forcible deportation to Uzbekistan for overstaying
his residence permit. He was taken to a deportation centre, where he was allegedly kept in filthy conditions and given no hot food. His
appeal against the deportation order was dismissed on 6 October. He applied for asylum with the Tatarstan Migration Department that
day, fearing that if returned to Uzbekistan he would be investigated as a suspected Hizb-ut-Tahrir member, and tortured. Marsel Isaev
has denied having any connection at all to Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
On 11 October he was interviewed by the Migration Department in the deportation centre. The following day the Department sent a letter
to his home in Kazan informing him that his application for asylum had been received and was now being processed. That morning he
was escorted to Kazan airport and put on a flight to Tashkent, reportedly in handcuffs.
Amnesty International will be expressing serious alarm to the Russian authorities over the deportation of Marsel Isaev, and the way he
was denied the right to pursue his claim for asylum. His deportation was in stark contravention of the principle of non-refoulement, which
prohibits the return of any person to a place where they would be at risk of torture, persecution or other forms of ill-treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has documented many cases of people who have been forcibly returned to Uzbekistan as alleged members of
banned Islamic groups, who have been tortured or sentenced to death after unfair trials. The Uzbekistani authorities have sought a
number of forcible returns since a demonstration in the city of Andizhan on 13 May. The security forces reportedly opened fire on the
thousands of mainly unarmed and peaceful demonstrators, killing scores of men, women and children. The Uzbekistani authorities have
denied that the security forces used excessive force, and have accused alleged members and supporters of an organization called
Akramia of attempting to organize a violent uprising in Andizhan. They have also linked Akramia to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which they consider a
“terrorist” organization. They have claimed that the "uprising" was planned abroad and that some of the organizers may be hiding in
Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Russian, Uzbek, English or your own
language: (Please note that it can be difficult to get through to fax numbers in Uzbekistan. If a voice answers please repeat
“fax” until the fax is switched on. Fax machines can be switched off outside office hours, GMT+5)
- expressing concern for the safety of Marsel Isaev and urging the authorities to immediately establish his whereabouts and allow him
access to his family and lawyer;
- urging the authorities to do all in their power to ensure that he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and that he has access to any
medical attention he may need;
- urging the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, unless he has been charged with a recognizably criminal offence.
APPEALS TO:
President
Islam A. KARIMOV
Rezidentsia prezidenta; ul. Uzbekistanskaia, 43, Tashkent 700163; UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 139 53 25
Email: presidents_office@press-service.uz
Salutation: Dear President Karimov
Minister of Internal Affairs
Zakirzhan ALMATOV
Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del RU, ul. Novruz, 1, Tashkent 700029; UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 133 89 34
Salutation: Dear Minister Almatov
General Procurator of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Rashidzhon KODIROV
Prokuratura Respubliki Uzbekistan, ul. Gulyamova, 66, 700047 g. Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 133 39 17/ 133 73 68
E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
Salutation: Dear Procurator General
COPIES TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Elior GANIEV, Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU, pl. Mustakillik, 5, Tashkent 700029, UZBEKISTAN
Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17
Email: letter@mfa.uz or rnews@mfa.uz
Salutation: Dear Minister Ganiev
and to diplomatic representatives of Uzbekistan accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 2
December 2005.