Uzbekistan in pursuit of refugees (2005)

editors (JC), ,

The events in the eastern city of Andizhan of 12-13 May 2005, resulting in the killing of hundreds of people, led to many hundreds of people – women, men and children – fleeing Uzbekistan. Most crossed the Uzbekistan border into Kyrgyzstan, seeking international protection.

Many of those who fled to Kyrgyzstan were initially accommodated on 14 May in a makeshift refugee camp, set up by the Kyrgyzstan military, at Teshik Tosh, near the border. These refugees were subsequently moved to another camp at Besh-Kana on 4 June. These events and the asylum-seekers’ search for refuge are described in Amnesty International’s report Kyrgyzstan: Refugees in Need of a Safe Haven, which was published on 30 June 2005.

This report updates that account and is based on information gathered from interviews and documents obtained by an Amnesty International delegate on a visit to Kyrgyzstan from 21 to 30 July 2005. Many of the people who spoke to Amnesty International were in hiding and so asked for their identities to be protected.

For the 17-page Amnesty International report