U.N. condemns Russia's return of refugee

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A United Nations agency has condemned Russia's forcible return of an Uzbek refugee before his appeal of the deportation had been heard by a Moscow court.

Rustam Tulaganovich Muminov had been living in Russia since 2001 and was deported back to his native Uzbekistan Tuesday, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency said Friday in Geneva.

Muminov is the 16th Uzbek refugee to be forcibly returned by his host country this year, despite strenuous objections by the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, which says the individuals face grave danger.

On Feb.14 Ukraine deported 11 Uzbek nationals who had registered asylum claims or were in the process of doing so. On Aug. 9, four Uzbek refugees and one Uzbek asylum seeker were extradited by Kyrgyzstan.

The UNHCR has not had a presence in Uzbekistan since April when the agency was asked to leave by the government.

"We remain extremely concerned about the fate of all these people," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said.

Muminov was first detained Feb. 2 following an Uzbek extradition request. The request was denied, and Muminov applied for asylum in the Russian Federation later that month. The claim was found inadmissible, though UNHCR said the merits of the case warranted further examination.

"For reasons beyond his control, Muminov failed to appeal against this decision within the three-month period established by law," Redmond said.

Muminov was due to have a refugee status determination interview Nov. 1. He was detained in Moscow for violations of administrative rules and then deported, Redmond said.

"UNHCR is concerned that Muminov was not given the opportunity to have his case reviewed on its merits," Redmond said.