Kyrgyzstan: Refugees in need of a safe haven

Index Number: EUR 58/008/2005
Date Published: 27 June 2005
Categories: Europe And Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

In this document Amnesty International expresses its concern for the safety of hundreds of refugees from Uzbekistan who fled to Kyrgyzstan after security forces reportedly fired on thousands of mainly unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in the city of Andizhan on 13 May 2005. The organization has expressed particular concern about the threat of forcible return by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan of 29 refugees who were transferred from the camp into detention. Amnesty International has also been concerned about the undue pressure that the Uzbekistani authorities have been applying indirectly on the asylum-seekers to return "voluntarily".