Kyrgyzstan to Return Asylum Seekers

A prosecutor said Monday that Kyrgyzstan would send 15 Uzbek asylum seekers back to their home country, despite pleas from the United Nations and rights groups that the move would violate international treaties on refugees.

The announcement of the intended repatriations came after weeks of behind-the-scenes diplomacy about the fate of hundreds of Uzbeks who fled to neighboring Kyrgyzstan in May after Uzbek security forces violently suppressed an uprising in an eastern city.

The U.N. refugee agency sent 440 Uzbeks to Romania last week over Uzbekistan’s objections, but Kyrgyzstan held back 15 refugees it had arrested in the city of Osh.

“We will insist and suggest that the remaining 15 men be handed over to Uzbekistan,” deputy chief prosecutor Nurlan Jeenaliyev said Monday. His office had said it had “reliable evidence that the 15 have been involved in committing serious crimes.”

Uzbekistan has demanded the deportation of the refugees to face charges that include murder and terrorism.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees wants all 15 flown to a third country. The U.S. Embassy urged Kyrgyzstan on Monday to take “immediate steps to protect the rights of the refugees.” It said it backed a third-country transfer.

Despite calls to respect the refugees’ rights, Kyrgyzstan in recent weeks has secretly sent at least 89 Uzbek refugees back home, even though U.N. officials said they feared those repatriated could face prosecution.

The prosecutor’s office said extradition would not violate international law if the detainees were proved to have committed crimes of a “nonpolitical nature.”