Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor-General's Office says that authorities in neighboring Kazakhstan have officially requested the extradition of a Kazakh human rights activist.
Aleksandr Osadchenko, who is wanted in Kazakhstan on attempted fraud charges, was detained in Bishkek in June by Kazakh security officers and Kyrgyz law enforcement officers.
Osadchenko's lawyers said last week that Kazakh authorities are persecuting Osadchenko for speaking up on the situation in Kazakhstan's restive western oil town of Zhanaozen, where police shot dead at least 16 people last December.
Officials at Kyrgyzstan's Migration Department told RFE/RL on August 8 that Osadchenko had asked for political asylum in Kyrgyzstan two days earlier.
His possible extradition to Kazakhstan can be decided only after a court decision on his asylum request is made.
Aleksandr Osadchenko, who is wanted in Kazakhstan on attempted fraud charges, was detained in Bishkek in June by Kazakh security officers and Kyrgyz law enforcement officers.
Osadchenko's lawyers said last week that Kazakh authorities are persecuting Osadchenko for speaking up on the situation in Kazakhstan's restive western oil town of Zhanaozen, where police shot dead at least 16 people last December.
Officials at Kyrgyzstan's Migration Department told RFE/RL on August 8 that Osadchenko had asked for political asylum in Kyrgyzstan two days earlier.
His possible extradition to Kazakhstan can be decided only after a court decision on his asylum request is made.
