Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has refused to extradite Uzbek journalist and poet Narzullo Akhunzhonov to Uzbekistan, according to a letter from the Prosecutor General′s Office addressed to Akhunzhonov made public on Nov. 7.
In Uzbekistan, Akhunzhonov, 52, would be in danger of unjust trial and torture for his criticism of the authorities, according to Oksana Pokalchuk, the director of Amnesty International Ukraine, who made the letter public.
Akhunzhonov came to Ukraine to seek refuge with his family on Sept. 20, 2017. He was detained at the airport by Ukrainian border guards on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice requested by Uzbekistan.
The journalist was released after a month in a pre-trial detention facility and was later given refugee status.
Several international organizations have demanded Akhunzhonov’s release, including Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and PEN International. They say that if he is extradited to Uzbekistan, Akhunzhonov would face torture and possibly death.
The authorities in Uzbekistan have accused Akhunzhonov of being a suspect in a case of fraud dating from 2009, although they did not open an investigation until 2013. Akhunzhonov denies the accusations and says he was persecuted by the authorities for his reporting.
He found temporary refuge in Turkey, but the intimidation attempts continued there, he said.
In April 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe warned that Interpol’s Red Notice system was being abused by some of the member states. It called on members to “refrain from carrying out arrests (…) when they have serious concerns that the notice in question could be abusive.”
