Czech news agency CTK
Novemebr 29
f Czech authorities extradite Uzbek dissident
Mohammad Solih to Uzbekistan, it will mean his death, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) spokeswoman Sonia Winter said today.
Solih, the leader of Uzbekistan's main opposition democratic Party Erk, was arrested by Czech police at Prague Ruzyne airport upon his arrival from Norway on Wednesday [29 November]. Solih is wanted by Interpol. He is currently being held in a police cell in Prague.
Regarding the fact that Solih was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison in Taskhent and regarding the current regime in Uzbekistan, nobody would see him any longer. He would be sentenced to death, Winter stressed.
Solih was sentenced in absentia last year to 15.5 years in prison for an alleged involvement in a bombing that killed 16 people in Tashkent in 1999. He now lives in Norway where he gained political asylum. Solih arrived in Prague on the invitation of RFE. Winter said the radio was in frequent contact with Solih, describing him as a human rights advocate. According to Winter, Solih lives in exile because in early 1990s he, as the opponent of President Islam Karimov's regime, was forced to leave his native country. First he lived in Turkey and later went to Norway. RFE has been making interviews with Solih for about five years. He often contributes to its programmes as a dissident and critic of the regime in Uzbekistan, as a human rights fighter and as a person who himself suffered, Winter told CTK.
According to Winter, in 1999 several terrorist attacks took place in Uzbekistan for which Karimov's regime accused Solih's Erk and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IDU).
IDU is considered an ally of the terrorist organization Al-Qa'idah of Usamah Bin-Ladin , the prime suspect of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States.
According to experts, Solih has got to the list of persons wanted by Interpol through Karimov's influence.