UZBEKISTAN: TRIAL OF ALLEGED RELIGIOUS EXTREMIST EXTRADITED

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019-02-26
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KIRF KISL PGOV PINR PREF PREL SOCI UNHCR KG
UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: TRIAL OF ALLEGED RELIGIOUS EXTREMIST EXTRADITED
FROM KYRGYZSTAN

REF: a) TASHKENT 85

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CLASSIFIED BY: Richard Fitzmaurice, Poloff; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary: The trial of Haitjon Juraboev, a religious
extremist suspect who was extradited by Kyrgyz authorities to
Uzbekistan in September 2008, is nearing completion in Tashkent,
according to an independent activist monitoring the trial.
Juraboev has reportedly pled innocent to all the charges against
him except one (possessing a fake Kyrgyz passport),while
authorities allegedly have failed to produce any evidence to
support the other charges. According to Human Rights Watch,
Juraboev was granted refugee status by the UNHCR office in Bishkek
shortly before his extradition to Uzbekistan. His case appears to
be a continuation of efforts by Uzbek authorities to seek the
forcible extradition from neighboring countries of alleged
religious extremists, including those who have been granted refugee
status (reftel). We also remain concerned about the complicity of
neighboring governments in honoring these extradition requests.
End summary.



HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORTS ON JURABOEV'S EXTRADITION

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2. (U) In a February 6 press release, Human Rights Watch (HRW)
reported that a trial had begun in Tashkent of an Uzbek refugee,
Haitjon Juraboev, who was extradited by Kyrgyz authorities in
September 2008 to Uzbekistan, where he was wanted on charges of
religious extremism and illegal border crossing.




3. (U) HRW reported that Juraboev was the son-in-law of Obidkhan
Alikhanov, an Uzbek imam who was convicted on religious extremism
charges in the early 1990s. Juraboev studied Islam in the Middle
East and later taught at religious schools in Russia. In 2007,
Juraboev was allegedly extradited by Russia back to Uzbekistan,
where he was arrested but then released without charge. Juraboev
then fled to Kyrgyzstan, where he was registered as an asylum
seeker by the Kyrgyz State Committee for Migration and Employment.
He was granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Bishkek on September 19, 2008,
shortly before his extradition Uzbekistan. The press release
noted that Juraboev was among more than a dozen refugees forcibly
returned to Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan since 2005.



ACTIVIST MONITORING JURABOEV'S TRIAL IN TASHKENT

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4. (C) On February 20, poloff met with independent human rights
activist Ismoil Adilov, who has been monitoring Juraboev's trial
at the Tashkent City Criminal Court since it began on January 28.
Adilov observed that closing arguments were made on February 20 and
he expected that the trial would conclude soon. Adilov reported
that Juraboev had been accused of being a "Wahhabist" and violating
several articles of the criminal code related to religious
extremism and illegal border crossing (including Criminal Code
articles 223 pt I, 228 pt II, 227 pt. II, and 244 pt. II.) The
Prosecutor reportedly called for Juraboev to serve a prison term of
15 years. Adilov said that Juraboev looked healthy at court and he

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has not heard of any reports of abuse



FURTHER DETAILS ON JURABOEV'S ARREST

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5. (C) Adilov explained that Juraboev was stopped by Kyrgyz
authorities in Bishkek shortly after visiting a local mosque on
September 24, 2008. Juraboev was then reportedly held for five
days by Kyrgyz authorities before being taken to a border post near
Namangan, Uzbekistan, where he was given to Uzbek authorities.
Adilov knew of no warrant that had been issued for Juraboev's
arrest by Uzbek or Kyrgyz authorities. Juraboev's relatives in
Uzbekistan were only informed of his arrest three months later.



JURABOEV HAD FAKE KYRGYZ PASSPORT, DENIES OTHER CHARGES

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6. (C) According to Adilov, Juraboev admitted in court to
possessing a fake Kyrgyz passport with his picture and the name of
another man. Adilov reportedly denied all of the other charges
against him, including being a Wahhabist. According to Adilov,
authorities have not produced any evidence of Juraboev's guilt on
the other charges.




7. (C) Relatives reportedly told Adilov that Juraboev planned to
use the passport to visit his wife, an Uzbek currently residing in
Saudi Arabia. He claimed he was unable to use his Uzbek passport
as its pages were already full and he did not expect Uzbek
authorities to grant him a new one. According to Adilov, Juraboev
completed a graduate degree in Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia,
where he specialized in the Hadith, before moving to Russia to
teach at religious schools in Ufa and Chelyabinsk (Note: HRW
reported that Juraboev studied in Syria, not in Saudi Arabia. We
cannot explain this apparent contradiction. End note.)



POLICE HARRASSING ADILOV OVER TRIAL MONITORING

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8. (C) Adilov said he had been closely watched by Ministry of
Interior officers since he began monitoring Juraboev's trial last
month. Police also reportedly warned him that they had launched an
unspecified criminal investigation against him. Adilov is a former
member of the Birlik opposition party's Central Committee and was
first arrested in 1994 for organizing a public demonstration and
distributing Birlik literature. He was sentenced to 6 years'
imprisonment in 1999 on politically motivated charges, and was
released in April 2000 during a visit to Tashkent by then-Secretary
of State Madeline Albright. Adilov reported that his name remains
to this day in a police log of "suspicious persons."

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ADILOV, ARDZINOV, AND IHROU

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9. (C) Adilov is currently the head of the Tashkent City branch of
the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan (IHROU),
one of only two registered independent human rights groups in the
country (the other being Ezgulik). IHROU's national director is
Mikhail Ardzinov, who used to be a serious human rights activist
but now spends most of his time writing virulently anti-American
screeds, multiple copies of which are sent to the Embassy on a
regular basis (the latest version was entitled "7 Questions to the
President of the Powerful Empire of the United States Barack
Obama.") Despite his loose affiliation with Ardzinov's group, we
believe that Adilov remains a dedicated human rights activist.
Adilov, who admitted he was embarrassed by Ardzinov's antics, took
pains to note that his organization was technically an autonomous
branch of Ardzinov's group.



COMMENT

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10. (C) Juraboev's case appears to be a continuation of efforts by
Uzbek authorities to seek the forcible extradition from neighboring
countries of alleged religious extremists, including those who have
been granted refugee status. Juraboev's case is similar to that of
Uzbek asylum seeker Erkin Halikov, who was extradited from
Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan in May 2008 to face religious extremism
charges and whose current fate is unknown. Several other Uzbek
extremist suspects are currently facing possible forcible
extradition to Uzbekistan from Russia (ref A). We remain concerned
about the complicity of neighboring governments in honoring these
extradition requests.




11. (C) It is impossible for us to determine whether Juraboev was
actually a member of a Wahhabist sect or not, but the fact that his
father-in-law was previously imprisoned on religious extremism
charges, as well as his own religious study in Saudi Arabia (or
Syria),might have led Uzbek or Kyrgyz authorities to suspect him
of extremism activities. The government's efforts to seek
extradition of Uzbek extremist suspects abroad could be aimed at
silencing its critics or stamping out the potential threat of
banned religious groups recruiting members from among the large
population of Uzbek migrant workers in neighboring countries.
NORLAND

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