Wanted Uzbek Refugee Reported Missing In Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK -- An Uzbek refugee living in Kyrgystan and who is wanted by Uzbekistan has been reported missing for two weeks.

The wife of Shukhrat Musin told RFE/RL on February 27 that her husband disappeared on February 18.

Musin, 29, received refugee status in Kyrgyzstan in 2008. He fled Uzbekistan in 2007, two years after a brutal crackdown on antigovernment demonstrations in his native city of Andijon.

Uzbek authorities demanded Musin's extradition in 2011, saying he is a wanted member of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan's prosecutor-general refused to extradite Musin.

Musin's wife says she reported the disappearance to Bishkek police last week, but no progress has been made.

The U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch urged Kyrgyz authorities this week to expedite efforts to find Musin.