On September 12, a crucial hearing will be held by the Commission regarding the refugee status application of Karakalpak human rights defender Akylbek Muratbai (Muratov) (@muratbaiman). Muratbai has been detained in a pre-trial detention center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, since February 15, 2024. His arrest followed an extradition request by the Uzbek authorities, who are persecuting him for posting clips from a human rights conference organized by the OSCE (#WarsawHDC) on his YouTube channel and for organizing a peaceful flash mob in memory of those killed during the suppression of protests in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Muratbai has been denied the opportunity to attend the Commission hearing in person and will only be able to participate via video conference, despite the poor internet connection quality at the detention center.
It is important to note that all five previous Karakalpak activists, who were also arrested at the request of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, were denied refugee status in Kazakhstan. However, according to informal practices, the Commission hearings for these activists were held just before their release from the detention center after serving the maximum detention period of 12 months. This timing allowed them to begin the process of seeking political asylum in a third country while appealing the Commission’s decision in Kazakhstan’s courts.
Additionally, new regulations stipulate that a denial of refugee status immediately suspends the “Certificate of Asylum Seeker,” which previously prevented the extradition of the individual to the country of persecution. Under the previous rules, the Commission’s decision did not automatically revoke this protection.
Therefore, if Akylbek Muratbai, like the other five Karakalpak activists before him, is denied political asylum in Kazakhstan during the hearing on Thursday, September 12, the prohibition on his extradition could be lifted the same day. Consequently, the human rights defender might be handed over to Uzbek authorities.
Even if Muratbai contests the refusal of asylum over the remaining five months of his detention, as mandated by the prior arrest order, the judicial authorities could expedite the hearings and reject his appeals at every level. This process might culminate in a final refusal from the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan, allowing for Muratbai’s transfer from Almaty’s detention center to Uzbekistan upon his release.
Freedom for Eurasia urges Kazakhstan to consider Muratbai’s asylum request based on the Refugee Convention, to which Kazakhstan is a party, and to grant him refugee status to protect him from arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment in Uzbekistan.
