DUSHANBE, November 7, 2012, Asia-Plus -- Amnesty International (AI) fears for the safety of Abdulvosit Latipov (also known as Qori Vosit), a former member of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) who is believed to have been forcibly returned from Russia to Tajikistan at the end of October 2012, press release issued by AI on November 5 said.

“His lawyer in Tajikistan told Amnesty International that he has grounds to believe that Abdulvosit Latipov is being held incommunicado by the Tajikistani law enforcement officers in an apartment in the capital city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan.  His lawyer fears that his client is being tortured and otherwise ill-treated in order to extract confessions or force him to incriminate other people.

“Abdulvosit Latipov was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Russia in November 2010 following an extradition request by the Tajikistani authorities.  According to Russian NGO Memorial, he is accused of a series of crimes, including kidnapping, damaging state property and terrorism related offences. In August 2011 the Russian Prosecutor General ordered his extradition.  When Abdulvosit Latipov’s request for asylum in Russia was refused, his legal representative in Russia filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights.  In December 2011 the Court issued interim measures under Rule 39 which require the Russian Federation to refrain from deporting Abdulvosit Latipov until his case has been fully considered by the Court.  Reportedly he was released from detention on October 15, 2012 and days later forcibly taken from a flat he had been staying by unidentified armed men wearing masks.

“In view of the circumstances surrounding previous cases of disappearance and forcible return of Tajikistani nationals from Russia to Tajikistan where they have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International is concerned that Abdulvosit Latipov has been transferred to Tajikistan and is currently being held in unidentified location by the Tajikistani security officers.

“Amnesty International fears that Abdulvosit Latipov is at high risk of being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while in incommunicado detention in Tajikistan and therefore calls on the authorities of Tajikistan to: disclose the whereabouts of Abdulvosit Latipov; ensure that he is not subjected to any torture and other ill-treatment; and ensure that he has access to a lawyer appointed by his family.”

Press release also notes that Amnesty International’s research shows that torture and other ill-treatment is widespread in Tajikistan.  People accused of crimes against public security are particularly at risk of torture and other human rights violations in the hands of law enforcement officials.  Amnesty International documented a number of cases where Tajikistani nationals seeking asylum in Russia have been abducted and forcibly returned from Russia to Tajikistan and subsequently subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and imprisoned following unfair trial.

The research, in particular, notes that Savriddin Juraev was released from detention in Russia on 20 May 2011 and reportedly abducted on October 31, 2011.  On November 1, 2011 he reportedly flew from a Moscow airport to Tajikistan without possessing a passport, he had only temporary asylum certificate on him.  On April 19, 2012 he was sentenced to 26 years prison term but he maintains his innocence.  He also reported being tortured and ill-treated while in detention.

Another Tajikistani national, Nizomkhon Juraev, reportedly disappeared upon his released from the temporary detention in Russia on March 29, 2012 and re-appeared days later in Dushanbe while his case was pending before the European Court of Human Rights.  Anna Stavitskaya, the Russian lawyer who has taken Nizomkhon Juraev’s case to the European Court of Human Rights, stated that she doubted that Juraev returned voluntarily since he had been fighting his return to Tajikistan, where he could be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.  Moreover, his lawyer stated that she still had his passport. Without his passport or sufficient funds it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Nizomkhon Juraev to travel back to Tajikistan.