“Jarayon” received a letter from the wife of one of the 29 Uzbek refugees extradited to Uzbekistan by Kazakh authorities, where she complains that they no one to protect their rights.

In should be noted in the beginning of the article that 29 Uzbek refugees (all men) were extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan one and a half years ago. Before the extradition they lived in Almaty city together with their families. Most of them have minor children.

After the extradition of Uzbek refugees, their families disappeared from Almaty. According to unofficial reports, they had to leave Kazakhstan due to the persecution by Kazakh secret services and government pressure. Some returned to Uzbekistan after their husbands, and some went to other countries, according to sources of “Jarayon.”

Recently, wife of one of the extradited refugees contacted editorial of “Jarayon”. In her letter, she writes that she lost her hope and tired of fighting for the rights of her family. For security reasons, we have decided not to reveal her name.

In a letter, she bitterly writes that rights of all 29 extradited men, their wives and children are not being protected.

“I am a wife of a normal Muslim, who in 2011 was extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, and now spends his early years in an Uzbek prison. When we lived in Uzbekistan, many Muslims were imprisoned for years and tortured in prisons. Tyrants did not like the fact that my husband prayer namaaz (Muslim prayer – Jarayon), and I was wearing a scarf. They began to persecute us. We were in fear for their lives, fled the country and went to neighboring Kazakhstan.

There we addressed the representation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which, unfortunately, was not on the side of the oppressed, but on the side of tyrants. Initially, they recognized us as innocent refugees. But later, after the agreement reached by two dictators, this institution cancelled it decision, and handed over men to the country of torture.

When our husbands were arrested in Almaty, we immediately reported about it to the UNHCR. They told us “Not a single hair will drop for your husbands’ head and they will return home in two hours.” Many hours passed since then, but they have not returned. After all this, we don’t know on which side is the UNHCR,” hopelessly writes the wife of the Uzbek refugee.

She writes that during the few years of living in Uzbekistan, her family has not been able to achieve justice.

“My husband’s younger brother was put in prison for many years on religious charges. The “guilt” of my husband was that he had prayed namaaz, my “fault” was that I was wearing a scarf, but what was the guilt of my brother-in-law? After all, he worked at the nightclub, did not pray namaaz, drank alcohol, and loved to have fun. His “fault” was that he was the brother of my husband. When my sister-in-law came to visit him in prison, he was barely dragged for the meeting with her.

Because he had broken his ribs in prison. He was put under charges of “Wahhabism” and “terrorism.” Now, both of the brothers – my husband and his brother – are in jail. At the moment no one can visit them due to financial problems. I called my sister-in-law recently and asked if she visited her brothers, but she cried. She said: “How can I visit them when I can barely make ends meet? I even have to give bread to my children by pieces”,” write the wife of Uzbek refugees.

According to her, many refugees extradited from Kazakhstan serve their term in prison Zhaslyk, which is located in Karakalpakstan. It should be noted that Zhaslyk prison in Uzbekistan is now home for many people convicted on political and especially religious reasons. The prison is widely known for its cruel administration that severely tortures prisoners. Uzbek human rights activists frequently report that as a result of torture in Zhaslyk many prisoners have health problems. Sometimes torture leads to their deaths.

“Tyrants from Uzbekistan got the people they needed, but still cannot settle down. Now, the authorities are after the relatives of these refugees, and bother them day and night. My brothers are also in fear. They were accused of helping me to escape from the country. They were called to police, where police officers took their pictures from different angles, as if they were dangerous criminals. When this agony will end? ” asks the wife of a refugee at the end of her letter.

29 Uzbek refugees – twenty-seven citizens of Uzbekistan and two citizen of Tajikistan – were arrested in June 2010 in Almaty at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Interior Ministry of Uzbekistan. The Uzbek authorities accused them of serious crimes in Uzbekistan.

Relatives say that in Uzbekistan all 29 refugees have been persecuted by the local security services for their religious views and beliefs. For this reason, they were forced to leave the country and flee to neighboring Kazakhstan.

In the summer 2011, despite the violation of international laws, the Kazakh authorities extradited them back to Uzbekistan.

In June 2012, the UN Committee against Torture issued a statement that Kazakhstan, by deporting Uzbek refugees to Tashkent, breached its international obligations in the field of human rights.

In Uzbekistan, all extradited men were sentenced to long prison terms. Recently, “Jarayon”s source in Uzbekistan reported that all 29 refugees put in prisons of Uzbekistan were being tortured by the authorities.