Despite the warnings of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Kazakh authorities extradited Khairullo Tursunov, asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, to Tashkent.

According to sources of “Jarayon”, authorities of Kazakhstan extradited Khairullo Tursunov, individual asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, to Tashkent on March 13, at 10:15 am local time. Tursunov was sent home via the Almaty-Tashkent flight of the air company “Air Astana”.

Khairullo Tursunov was arrested in Kazakhstan in April 2012. Since then, he was held in detention centers in different cities. Uzbek authorities have accused him of terrorism, attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, and membership in a jamaat, established in Almaty.

The international human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club”, based in France, filed an individual complaint on behalf of Khairullo Tursunov to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

On February 28, the organization received a response from OHCHR that stated that the individual complaint, written on the case of Khairullo Tursunov, asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, was received, and Tursunov is not to be extradited from Kazakhstan during the period of consideration of the complaint.

It was stated that a copy of the letter was also sent to the government of Kazakhstan. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also requested official Astana not to send Khairullo Tursunov to Uzbekistan during the pendency of his individual complaint. He was supposed to stay in Kazakhstan for the next six months.

However, the Kazakh authorities had not responded to OHCHR yet.

It must be noted that the government of Kazakhstan had previously ignored such requests of international bodies. For example, in 2011, the UN Committee against Torture asked the Kazakh authorities not to extradite 29 Uzbek refugees until their appeal is considered by the organization.

However, in 2011, in spite of all requests and calls, the Kazakh authorities extradited 29 Uzbek refugees to Tashkent. It was reported that majority of extradited refugees where later imprisoned and subjected to brutal torture and ill treatment.

In 2012, the UN Committee against Torture ruled that Kazakhstan, by sending Uzbek refugees to Uzbekistan, violated its international obligations in the field of human rights, extraditing people to countries where torture is systematic. The Committee obliged Kazakhstan to return extradited people and pay them financial compensations. However, the official Astana failed to meet this requirement of the UN Committee against Torture as well.