EU spreekt Oekraïne aan op deportatie politieke vluchtelingen uit Oezbekistan (en)

Presidency seeks clarification from the Ukrainian authorities

The Austrian Presidency of the EU shares the concern expressed by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) at the deportation of ten Uzbek refugees by Ukrainian authorities. Nine of the men were registered with the UNHCR office in Kiev as asylum seekers, the tenth intended to claim asylum. However, Uzbekistan submitted a request for extradition accusing the refugees of being involved in the unrest in mid-May 2005 in the city of Andizhan, which was violently suppressed. The EU registered a vehement protest at the time against the conduct of the Uzbek authorities during and after the disturbances.

The decision to extradite was taken by a local court in Simferopol/Ukraine on 14 February. The refugees were deported during the night 14-15 February without the UNHCR office being notified in advance.

Following consultation with all the EU Member States, the Austrian ambassador in Kiev has been mandated to seek clarification from the Ukrainian authorities as to how this extradition was allowed to happen and to seek assurances that similar actions will not recur in the future.

The European Union will closely monitor the fate of the ten deportees to Uzbekistan.