DUSHANBE. Feb 6 (Interfax) - Former Tajik Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullajanov has been detained at the Kyiv Boryspil International Airport at the request of Tajik authorities, Tajik police representatives told Interfax on Wednesday.
Tajikistan will ask for extradition of the ex-prime minister, who has been living in the United States lately.
"True, Abdullajanov has been detained at the Kyiv Airport at our request. We will seek his extradition," one of the sources said.
"He has been wanted for nearly 20 years under Article 306 (violent taking or retention of power) and some other charges," the other source said.
Abdullajanov, 64, was the Tajik Prime Minister from September 1992 to 1993. He stepped down and was appointed as the Tajik Ambassador to Russia. In 1994, he took part in the first universal presidential election in Tajikistan. Official reports said he lost to Emomali Rahmon, the incumbent chief of Tajikistan.
Abdullajanov left Tajikistan after the election and took residence in Russia. He moved to the United States in 1998.
Tajik authorities accused Abdullajanov of organizing an attempt upon the life of Rahmon on April 30, 1997. The president was injured in the leg. The ex-prime minister denied his culpability in interviews.
Tajikistan will elect the president in November 2013. There have been rumors that Abdullajanov would support a certain candidate of the opposition force, which had been silent about its participation in the presidential race. The ex-prime minister stopped giving interviews long ago. His position is unknown.
Umarali Kuvatov, another opposition politician, who, in contrast to Abdullajanov, is practically unknown to Tajik voters, was detained at the Dubai Airport (the UAE) late last December at the request of Tajik authorities. His extradition to the home country has not been approved so far. Authorities denied political motivation for the detention of Kuvatov. They say he is suspected of serious fraud.