Czech Court Frees Uzbek Refugee

Andijon residents pray in front of the bodies of victims of the government crackdown in May 2005 (file photo) (epa)

PRAGUE, August 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- An Uzbek refugee from Andijon who was detained on an Interpol warrant while crossing the Czech-German border last month has been freed, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports.

Omonullo Maqsudov, who has official refugee status in Germany, was released from a prison in Plzen today.

He was among hundreds of Uzbeks who fled violence in May 2005 in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon, where rights groups and eyewitnesses accuse Uzbek security forces of killing hundreds of protesters.

Maqsudov is the son-in-law of Akrom Yuldoshev, an alleged leader of Akramiya, a religious group that Uzbek officials blame for the unrest in Andijon.