Fugitive relative of late Uzbek president granted refugee status in Ukraine
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 27 June 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Fugitive relative of late Uzbek president granted refugee status in Ukraine, 27 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59818e19a.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 27, 2017 15:23 GMT
By RFE/RL's Uzbek Service
Akbarali Abdullaev (file photo)
Authorities in Kyiv say a detained relative of Uzbekistan's late President Islam Karimov has been released from house arrest and offered refugee status in Ukraine.
Nadezhda Maksimets, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General's Office in Kyiv, told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service on June 27 that Akbarali Abdullaev was freed from house arrest in Ukraine on June 14.
Abdullaev – a nephew of Karimov's widow, Tatyana Karimova – is wanted in Tashkent on charges of bribery and embezzlement.
He was arrested at Kyiv's Zhulyany International Airport in January after he arrived there with Uzbek and Dominican passports and placed in a pretrial detention center until April 21, when he was transferred to house arrest.
In February, a court in Kyiv ruled that Abdullaev must remain in custody for one year while a decision on his possible extradition to Uzbekistan was being considered.
At a court hearing in February, Abdullaev claimed that he would face "death" if he were extradited to Uzbekistan.
Maksimets said any decision on the 33-year-old Abdullaev's possible extradition to Uzbekistan rested with Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office.
Uzbekistan in 2014 charged Abdullaev with embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
