Amnesty International said Aysoltan Niyazova’s activism would put her at great risk of suffering serious abuse, including torture and other ill-treatment, if she is extradited to Turkmenistan.
Russian activist and Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina (left) and Croatian lawyer Lina Budak (right) talk to media in Zagreb, Croatia, June 1 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT
Croatia should not extradite the Pussy Riot supporter and activist Aysoltan Niyazova to Turkmenistan and should release her from detention, Amnesty International urged.
Amnesty Deputy Director for Europe Julia Hall said on Wednesday that international law requires Croatia not to return or extradite any person to a country where they would face a risk of serious human rights violations.
“The authorities in Zagreb must refuse Turkmenistan’s request for Aysoltan Niyazov’s extradition and immediately release her from detention,” Hall said in press release.
Our friend & activist was arrested and is now in Zagreb prison. Croatian officials are texting Turkmenstan about her extradition as if it’s an everyday moment – send someone to execution in one of the most terrible dictatorships closest friends of Putin @AndrejPlenkovic is it ok? pic.twitter.com/dkHjKYEARG
— 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙💦 (@pussyrrriot) May 31, 2022
Niyazov, a national of both Russia and Turkmenistan, was arrested in Croatia on Monday after arriving from Slovenia with members of the group for a concert, and a court ordered 30 days of custody.
She was arrested based on Interpol red notice issued by Turkmenistan in 2002, allegedly for embezzlement of funds belonging to the country’s central bank. She denies these allegations.
Her lawyer, Lina Budak, told the media on Wednesday: “There is no reason for her to be arrested, she is a free citizen and it is a matter of political persecution.”
“Her father was arrested as a political opponent a long time ago, he was killed in prison; after that a chase started against my client, she was convicted, in Russia, she spent six years in prison there, and she should be free,” Budak said, Jutarnji list reported.
“That warrant should be removed from the list”, she added.
Croatia’s Ministry of Justice and Public Administration said it “will act within its competence, when it receives relevant information on a specific case”.
Julia Hall from Amnesty said Croatian authorities know that Niyazov’s activism would put her at great risk of suffering serious abuse, including torture and other ill-treatment, should she be extradited to Turkmenistan, which “is not a safe country for her or any human rights defender”.
“Interpol warrants have been notoriously abused by a number of authoritarian regimes and countries with appalling human rights records to try to silence activists and those who speak out about human rights violations,” she said. “Croatia should not be complicit in such practices”, she added.
The all-Russian girl band Pussy Riot has a fluid membership, mostly based outside Russia to avoid arrest by the authorities who object to its strongly anti-government message.
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