Tajik Opposition Figure Reportedly Released From Dubai Jail

Tajik opposition activist Umarali Quvatov

DUSHANBE -- A Tajik opposition figure wanted by Dushanbe on charges of involvement in a $1.2 million fraud case has reportedly been released from a detention center in Dubai.

Umarali Quvatov's relatives told RFE/RL on September 26 that he had been released but that his current whereabouts cannot be revealed to the media.

Tajik authorities have been requesting Quvatov's extradition since his arrest in the United Arab Emirates in December.

Quvatov, a successful businessman, used to have close ties to the family of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

Last year, Quvatov left Dushanbe for the Russian capital, Moscow, and established the Group 24 political movement opposing Rahmon.

In a statement issued from his cell in January, Quvatov called the charges against him politically motivated.