Amnesty calls on Czechs to protect Ablyazov aide

Asylim seeker Tatiana Paraskevich

Rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on authorities in the Czech Republic to reject requests by Ukraine and Russia to extradite a Russian-Kazakh citizen jailed on an Interpol warrant.

Forty-nine-year-old Tatiana Paraskevich has spent nearly 18 months in Czech detention following her arrest for alleged financial crimes linked to Kazakh billionaire and opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Amnesty says extradition to either Ukraine or Russia would put Paraskevich at risk of deportation to Kazakhstan, where she could face torture and an unfair trial.

Czech officials have yet to rule on Paraskevich's plea for political asylum.

A ruling in her favor would nullify all extradition orders.

Ablyazov and a number of his associates have been detained across Europe in a case that critics say is politically motivated.

RFE