Amnesty International (AI) wrote to the Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday urging them to reject Tajikistan's request to extradite its former prime minister, Abdumalik Abdullajanov.

AI said that the former politician accused of several crimes, including the organization of the attempt at the life of Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, was at risk of torture in his homeland.

"If extradited to Tajikistan, Abdumalik Abdullajanov will face unfair trial and be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment," the AI statement said.

Amnesty International "has called on the Ukrainian authorities to refuse any request from the Tajikistani authorities to extradite Abdumalik Abdullajanov, and to grant Abdumalik Abdullajanov access to a fair and impartial asylum procedure," the statement said.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reminded Kyiv that since Abdullajanov is a U.S. recognized refugee, he could not be extradited to another country. The Ukrainian authorities did not comment on this statement.

"In advance of presidential elections in November this year, the Tajikistani authorities have been escalating their campaign to silence all critical voices including through harassment, shutting down organizations and websites, and seeking extradition of opposition members," AI said.

The human rights organization said that "torture is pervasive in Tajikistan and in November 2012, the UN Committee against Torture noted "numerous and consistent allegations … of routine use of torture and ill-treatment of suspects, principally to extract confessions."

It was reported on February 18 that the Tajik Prosecutor's General Office has sent official documents necessary to extradite Abdullajanov to Ukraine. The Tajik prosecution said that these documents had enough proof its former prime minister was guilty to extradite him to Tajikistan.

Abdullajanov, 64, has lived in the United States for the past 15 years. On February 5, the former prime minister was detained in the Boryspil international airport in Ukraine on the request of the Tajik authorities. On February 7, a court put Abdullajanov under a temporary 40-day arrest so that the Tajik authorities provide documents to have him extradited. On February 13, the Tajik Prosecutor's General Office said it had received the Ukrainian court ruling on the 40-day detention. A prosecutor's office representative said initially that it would take Tajikistan two or three weeks to gather all the documents for the extradition, but the office managed to prepare them in five days.

Abdullajanov is accused of terrorism, attempted murder of a government official as part of an organized group, banditry, organizing a criminal community, large-scale embezzlement of state property, forceful seizure or retention of power and sabotage within a group. If the former prime minister is extradited to Dushanbe and found guilty, he might face a life sentence.

Abdullajanov was appointed prime minister of Tajikistan in September 1992, but he resigned in 1993 and was appointed ambassador to Russia. In 1994, he ran for president at Tajikistan's second presidential election, but according to official reports lost to Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan's current president.

After that, he left Tajikistan and lived in Russia, and since 1998 has lived in the United States.

Tajik authorities accuse Abdullajanov of organizing an attempt on Rahmon's life on April 30, 1997, when the president was wounded in the leg and organizing a riot in the Sughd region which claimed dozens of lives in 1998. The former prime minister has denied any involvement in his interviews to western media.

Tajikistan has its next presidential election set for November this year, and it has been rumored in the country over the last few months that Abdullajanov would support an opposition candidate who has not yet declared his participation. Abdullajanov has not been interviewed for a long time so his stand on the issue is unclear.

The following former politicians have been sentenced in Tajikistan: in 2005 former head of the Tajik Internal Affairs Ministry (1993-1995), Yaqub Salimov, was sentenced to 15 years, in 2006 former commander of the presidential guards (1995-2004), Gaffur Mirzoev, was sentenced to life, in 2005 former head of the Democratic Party and state-owned Tajikgas (1999-2003), Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, was sentenced to 23 years. Former commander of the Defense Ministry first responders, Colonel Mahmud Hudoiberdiev, who previously supported Rahmon, has been put on the wanted list.