Wife, Children Of Uzbek Refugee Stuck At Moscow Airport

Zulkhumor Alijonova (far left) and her four children, who are originally from Uzbekistan's eastern city of Andijon, arrived in Moscow at Domodedovo from Kyrgyzstan on October 4.

Russian rights defenders have stopped the deportation of an Uzbek family at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

Zulkhumor Alijonova and her four children, who are originally from Uzbekistan's eastern city of Andijon, arrived in Moscow at Domodedovo from Kyrgyzstan on October 4.

The woman's husband, whose name was not disclosed for security reasons, has been living in Russia as a political refugee for some time.

However, airport officials refused to allow them to enter the country, saying their documents were not valid.

The Moscow-based Civic Action human rights group became involved in the situation and the family was placed in the airport's immigration detention room while immigration officials look into their case.

An RFE/RL correspondent reported from the airport on October 7 that Civic Action has filed an asylum request on the family's behalf.


Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service