Czech police release five Kazakh asylum seekers
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 March 2009 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Czech police release five Kazakh asylum seekers, 6 March 2009, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/49b68d1d3a.html [accessed 19 May 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. |
March 06, 2009
Czech authorities have released five of six Kazakh asylum seekers they detained earlier this week, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
The six leading members of a group of Kazakh nationals, who say they are Salafi Muslims, were detained in different parts of the Czech Republic on March 3.
Members of the 205-person group of Kazakh citizens claim that they will be persecuted if they return to Kazakhstan.
The Czech authorities have refused to grant asylum to the Kazakhs.
A representative of the group told RFE/RL that the six detained comrades were officially charged with involvement in human trafficking and the illegal crossing of the Polish-Czech and Czech-Austrian borders.
A France-based human rights watchdog, Human Rights in Central Asia, has called on the international community to help the Kazakh Salafi Muslims avoid deportation from the Czech Republic.
