The US government has claimed that it sought assurances from the Uzbek authorities in an effort to deport Bekhzod Yusupov, an Uzbek national who has been in detention in the US for over four years. In August 2005 the US Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that Bekhzod Yusupov was entitled to have his removal to Uzbekistan deferred because of the US government’s obligations under the Convention against Torture not to send anyone to a place where he or she faces the risk of torture. Yusupov is an “independent Muslim” (a person who practices Islam outside state institutions and guidelines). Recognizing that the record contained credible evidence of the Uzbek government’s routine use of torture, especially against persons imprisoned for “religious extremism,” the BIA held that Yusupov “more likely than not” would be tortured if returned to Uzbekistan. Bekhzod Yusupov is currently being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Pike County Prison in Milford, Pennsylvania.
In a July 19, 2006 “Decision to Continue Detention” letter, ICE informed Yusupov that it was pursuing assurances from the government of Uzbekistan that he would not be tortured upon return. The letter concluded that there was a significant likelihood of Yusupov’s removal in the reasonably foreseeable future in light of the attempt to secure such assurances, and that he would remain in detention until such time as the assurances were received. Human Rights Watch and the ACLU wrote jointly to US officials in September 2006 expressing dismay that the government would seek diplomatic assurances from Uzbekistan, a state that is notorious for practicing systematic torture. The letter noted that Uzbek law enforcement officers continued to round up and torture independent Muslims like Yusupov, and that another independent Muslim, Imam Ruhiddin Fakhruddinov, was detained and physically abused in custody after Kazakh authorities forcibly and illegally returned him from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan in November 2005. The letter also stated that “[i]t is routine for the Uzbek authorities to charge and detain political and religious dissidents (including refugees who fled the country after the May 2005 massacre in Andijan) with supporting ‘illegal religious movements.’ Recognizing the high risk of torture and other ill-treatment faced by dissidents charged with supporting ‘illegal religious movements’ in Uzbekistan, the US State Department has urged other governments not to give in to Uzbek demands to repatriate such dissidents. Nevertheless, ICE claims that it is seeking diplomatic assurances to accomplish repatriation in Mr. Yusupov’s case.”
In October 2006 the State Department informed Yusupov that it was no longer seeking assurances from Uzbekistan, but was looking to resettle him in a third country, possibly Russia. The Yusupov case has given rise to concerns that the US government may be using the excuse of seeking diplomatic assurances to keep people detained longer than is currently permitted under US immigration law. By seeking assurances, or claiming that it is seeking assurances, the US government can continue to detain people who have been deemed worthy of protection—and thus would normally be eligible for release after a maximum time period—on the basis that they can be removed in the near future upon receipt of diplomatic assurances against torture.
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