DUSHANBE (TCA) — Greece should not extradite, deport or otherwise facilitate the return of a Tajik opposition activist to Tajikistan, where he faces possible torture or ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said on October 12. Mirzorakhim Kuzov, a senior leader of outlawed Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), was detained on October 9 by Greek police at passport control in Athens International Airport as he was in transit after attending a human rights conference in Warsaw, Poland.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — The raft of reforms under way in Uzbekistan must invest in the promotion and protection of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, a UN expert has concluded on October 12 at the end of an official visit to the country.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Long lines of cars, trucks, and frustrated travelers on foot stretched back from Kyrgyzstan’s border with Kazakhstan, which officials in Bishkek suspect has restricted movement across the border amid a politically charged dispute ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election on October 15, RFE/RL reports.

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KABUL (TCA) — Civilian casualties in Afghanistan declined 6 percent during the first nine months of 2017, the United Nations says, as the Kabul government continues to battle militants after nearly 16 years of war, RFE/RL reports.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on October 11 ordered the end of deeply discounted water, gas, and electricity for Turkmen citizens in a decree prompted by falling energy prices and sales that have depleted government revenues, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports.

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ALMATY (TCA) — American Councils for International Education (ACCELS) with support of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Kazakhstan is organizing an educational fair of U.S. higher institutions that will be held in Almaty on October 14. ACCELS is a non-profit organization that implements international exchange programs, and has been an official source of U.S. higher education in Kazakhstan since 1992, the U.S. Consulate General in Almaty said.

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