03.04.2008 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

According to Uzbek activists, about 100 Uzbek migrant workers killed by Russian skinheads last year ("Tashkent Ignores Murders of Uzbeks in Russia") [ID 22880]

"Despite attempts by Uzbek activists to draw their government’s attention to the victimisation of labour migrants in Russia, Tashkent remains tight-lipped on the issue – perhaps because it does not want to admit that so many people are forced to go abroad to find work. At the end of March, the Uyghon, Uzbekiston (Awake, Uzbekistan) Democratic Youth Movement declared March 31 to be Memorial Day for Uzbeks murdered in Russia. Activists from the movement announced that it would stage protests outside Russian embassies in various countries. The statement said about 100 migrant workers were killed by Russian skinheads last year, and accused the Kremlin of failing to act to prevent racist crime. It said that as skinhead attacks on Central Asians increased, Russian police often recorded racist crimes under less serious headings, and created bureaucracy difficulties that impede investigations. Of these 100 cases of murder, only 25 resulted in individuals being taken to court – and even then they were only accused of disorderly conduct and the like. According to the Sova Human Rights Center based in Moscow, more than 30 race-based crimes, leading in the deaths of at least ten Central Asians, took place in Russia in March 2008 alone. (...)"

Document(s): Open document

21.07.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Uzbek national abducted from his house in the Russian Federation/ he could be returned to Uzbekistan and there would be at risk of torture ("Russian Federation/Uzbekistan - Further Information on UA 352/02") [#24161],  [ID 11413]

"Uzbek national Mannopzhon Rakhmatullayev was abducted from his house in the Russian Federation on 21 July. If, as is feared, the men who abducted him were working on the instructions of the Uzbek authorities, he could be returned to Uzbekistan at any time, where he would be at risk of torture.

Mannopzhon Rakhmatullayev, who has lived in the Russian Federation for many years, was detained in October 2002 after the Uzbek authorities requested that he be deported. It is now known that he was released in August or September 2003, after the Russian authorities refused to hand him over, and returned to his home in the town of Marx, where he had worked as an imam (Islamic leader) at the mosque. He has since applied for Russian citizenship, but a decision has not yet been taken on this.

In the morning of 21 July three masked men arrived at Mannopzhon Rakhmatullayev's house in a white car. They hit him and his wife several times and pushed him into their car without saying who they were, or where they were taking him. When his lawyer made inquiries later that day, the regional authorities said they had not received a fresh extradition request from the Uzbek authorities.

The Uzbek authorities have accused him of "religious extremism" and "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order of Uzbekistan", as well as possession of firearms. His supporters insist the accusations are groundless and that the case is politically motivated."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

02.03.2003 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Uzbek Migrants' Russian Dreams Shattered ("02.03.2003 - Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Uzbek Migrants' Russian Dreams Shattered") [ID 11414]

A life of squalor, exploitation and violence awaits many seasonal workers in Russia.

Document(s): 02.03.2003 - Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Uzbek Migrants' Russian Dreams Shattered