Czech Court Bars Extradition of Uzbek Opposition Leader

A Czech court ruled Friday that an exiled Uzbek opposition leader, accused of terrorism by his government but regarded by human rights groups as a democracy activist, will not be extradited to Uzbekistan.

“Justice has won,” Mukhammat Salikh told reporters at a Prague municipal court after the ruling, which leaves him free to return to Norway, where he received political asylum two years ago.

The court cited possible risk to Salikh’s life as a key reason for denying the extradition request. The Czech Republic is bound by international agreements not to extradite suspects to countries where their lives would be in danger, Judge Veronika Bohacova said.

Salikh ran against President Islam Karimov in 1991 but lost, then fled the Central Asian country in 1993. In exile he has continued to head the banned Freedom Democratic Party. Last year, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 1/2 years in prison for alleged involvement in a 1999 bombing that killed 16 people in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital.

Salikh was detained at the airport on an international arrest warrant when he came to the Czech capital last month at the invitation of Radio Free Europe, which has frequently interviewed him about democracy and human rights in Uzbekistan. His supporters, including the U.S.-funded station and many high-profile international human rights groups, argued that he probably faced death if sent back to Uzbekistan, one of the successor states to the Soviet Union.

Human rights organizations say that no material evidence was introduced against him at his terrorism trial in Uzbekistan and that allegations of his involvement made by other defendants were obtained through torture.

Salikh and his backers said Friday that his arrest ended up benefiting the cause of democracy in Uzbekistan by drawing international attention to problems there.

“Thousands of people in Uzbekistan are suffering and are persecuted, tortured and imprisoned because of their ideas and political views,” Salikh told reporters at the courthouse.

Despite its authoritarian government, Uzbekistan, which is just north of Afghanistan, is now a key U.S. ally in the war against terrorism.

Radio Free Europe spokeswoman Sonia Winter said Friday that “it looked in the beginning as if they really were going to send him back to Uzbekistan.”

“Then I think it became clear to the court that he wasn’t a terrorist, but they didn’t know what to do with him legally,” she said.

Winter released a letter sent to the court last week by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty President Thomas A. Dine in which he appealed for Salikh’s release and said, “We know Mr. Salikh to be a fair, honest and brave person promoting human rights and democratic institutions in his homeland.”

Salikh was invited to Prague Castle on Wednesday to meet with President Vaclav Havel, who as an anti-communist dissident had been detained at the same prison where Salikh was held. Havel explained the invitation by saying, “I arrived at the opinion that he is a true fighter for human rights, a democrat, a man falsely accused.”

“Salikh said it was almost a privilege that he was in the same prison,” said Winter, who also attended the meeting. Salikh also told Havel that the Czech leader had been one of his role models as a youth and that he “had never imagined he would meet him,” she added.