[JURIST] Russia has extradited an Uzbek man sought on charges of religious extremism to his native Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] in defiance of a request by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website], a representative from the Russian advocacy group Civic Assistance said Thursday. The ECHR had formally requested that Russia refrain from deporting Abdugani Kamaliyev until after a court hearing could be held. The ECHR and Civic Assistance have expressed concerns that the charges against Kamaliyev are bogus and that he may be tortured upon returning to Uzbekistan. AP has more.

In August 2006, Russian prosecutors approved a request [JURIST report] from Uzbekistan to extradite 13 people accused of terrorist acts in connection with the 2005 uprising in Andijan [JURIST news archive] that resulted in the massacre of unarmed Uzbek civilians [BBC backgrounder] in spite of protests from a Moscow-based human rights group Memorial [advocacy website] that the cases against the 13 men were false and that they would face torture when they returned to Uzbekistan.