Uzbek law enforcement authorities said today that a group of 13 Andijon refugees have returned to Uzbekistan.
The 13 were staying in Ukraine and according to Uzbek authorities received refugee status from the UN and were granted permission to travel on to Switzerland.
That information has not been confirmed by any other source.
RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports that some among the group may face charges in Uzbekistan. It was also not clear if all returned voluntarily.
Uzbek authorities claim UN officials tried "unsuccessfully" to convince the 13 not to return to Uzbekistan.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uzbek citizens fled violence in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon on May 13, 2005, many crossing into neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees later evacuated 439 of the refugees to Romania and from there most were resettled to countries in Europe and North America. More than 50 have voluntarily returned home since then.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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