Amnesty International urges Croatia to release Pussy Riot member

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Amnesty International urged Croatia on Wednesday to release Aysoltan Niyazov, an activist and member of the band Pussy Riot who was arrested on an Interpol warrant and faces possible extradition to Turkmenistan.

Niyazov, a national of Russia and Turkmenistan, was detained in Zagreb on Monday while attending a concert as part of the anti-war tour by the Russian anti-Kremlin punk band, proceeds of which will go to support a hospital in Kyiv.

Croatian police arrested her based on an Interpol red notice issued by Turkmenistan in 2002, on charges of alleged embezzlement of funds belonging to the country’s central bank. Niyazov denies the allegations.

“The Croatian authorities know that Aysoltan Niyazov’s activism would put her at great risk of suffering serious abuse … should she be extradited to Turkmenistan,” Julia Hall, the Amnesty International deputy director for Europe, said in a statement.

“The authorities in Zagreb must refuse Turkmenistan’s request for … Niyazov’s extradition and immediately release her from detention,” Hall said.

Hall said the rights group had documented many cases of Turkmenistani authorities pressing charges based on fabricated or unreliable evidence.

The Croatian justice ministry on Wednesday dismissed Niyazov’s lawyer’s accusations that she had been ill-treated in detention, saying that she had received the same treatment as any other detainee.

It said a court will decide on the duration of her detention, possible release or other measures.

“The Ministry of Justice and Administration will act within the scope of its authorities when it receives relevant information,” it said in a statement, declining to comment further.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Hugh Lawson)