KYRGYZ UPDATE ON MAKSUDOVA, YULDASHEVA RESETTLEMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 001409 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM KDEM KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ UPDATE ON MAKSUDOVA, YULDASHEVA RESETTLEMENT REF: A. BISHKEK 1384 ¶B. BISHKEK 1373 ¶C. BISHKEK 1102 Classified By: Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) UNHCR reps in Bishkek have told us that following the release from custody of her daughter Gulmira Maksudova on September 29 (Ref A),Yogdoroy Yuldasheva has re-appealed to UNHCR to assist in resettling her other daughter, 14-year-old Muyassaroy Yuldasheva, first to Germany under the guardianship of Gulmira, and then expeditiously to the United States to be reunited with her mother. (Note: Yogdoroy Yuldasheva is the wife of Akramia founder Akram Yuldashev, who is currently in prison in Uzbekistan. End note.) Conflicting information about Yogdoroy's intentions, however, is preventing UNHCR from following through on the request. ¶2. (C) The current request to resettle Muyassaroy to Germany and the U.S. depends largely on the intentions -- and ultimate place of residence -- of her mother, Yogdoroy. Yogdoroy Yuldasheva currently resides in Boise, Idaho. Her earlier request to UNHCR to assist in resettling Muyassaroy (Ref C) was put on hold when UNHCR learned that Yogdoroy, along with other Uzbek refugees, had plans to return to Andijon, Uzbekistan (Ref B). Following Maksudova's release on September 29, however, Yogdoroy told UNHCR that she planned to remain in the United States and requested that UNHCR proceed with the original plan to resettle Muyassaroy first to Germany under the guardianship of Maksudova and then immediately onward to the United States to be re-united with her mother. It appears, however, that Yogdoroy has separately told the International Rescue Committee Regional Resettlement Director in Boise that her plan is, in fact, to return to Uzbekistan. This conflicting information has forced UNHCR to put a hold on Muyassaroy's case until further confirmation is obtained regarding Yogdoroy's intentions to move back to Andijon. ¶3. (C) UNHCR reps have told us that they are moving ahead with plans to resettle Gulmira Maksudova and her infant daughter to Germany, where Maksudova's husband resides. On September 29, a Kyrgyz court in Osh released Maksudova, in custody since July 19, after it acquitted her on weapons and terrorism charges (Ref A). The court, however, has placed a restriction on Maksudova's movements, pending the prosecution's possible decision to appeal the acquittal (which has to be made within ten days of the court's initial ruling),and UNHCR is not confident that Maksudova will be able to obtain an exit visa from the MFA to leave Kyrgyzstan. UNHCR, nevertheless, confirmed that they will submit her visa application, as well as her daughter's, to the German Embassy. ¶4. (SBU) Post will continue to consult with UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee and report additional findings as needed. YOVANOVITCH