Slovak court recognized Tajik citizen as a “security threat” and he faces extradition to his homeland

Two months after the detention of a citizen of Tajikistan in Slovakia, the court recognized him as a “threat to national security” of this European country.

The court’s decision in the Košice region in eastern Slovakia was reported on May 31 by the local news agency TASR, citing the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country. The court confirmed the decision of the migration service, according to which the man from Tajikistan, previously recognized as dangerous by the Slovak Security Council, can be considered a threat to national security. The court hearing regarding the citizen of Tajikistan took place last Thursday in the administrative court of Košice.

It is unknown what exactly the citizen of Tajikistan stated in his defense and whether he had access to a lawyer.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia emphasized that the decision of the migration agency was assessed as “correct and lawful.” “In the case of the citizen of Tajikistan, the Administrative Court of Košice rejected the appeal against the decision to revoke the temporary asylum granted on Slovak territory on May 30, 2024,” the agency reported. At the same time, as in March of this year, the Slovak authorities did not disclose details regarding the identity of the detained citizen of Tajikistan; his name, age, and occupation remain unknown.

Matúš Sutaj Estok – the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia, when announcing the detention of the citizen of Tajikistan in March of this year, called him a “member of ISIS,” information about whom, according to him, was obtained with the help of the intelligence services of two foreign countries. The minister stated at that time that the man had a residence permit in Ukraine and, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, arrived in Slovakia among other refugees and requested asylum there.

“Despite the fact that the police were aware of this person and he was wanted through Interpol, the suspect freely roamed around Slovakia,” the minister claimed. “He should have been detained back in 2022 and returned to Ukraine,” he said, placing all the blame on the former government of Slovakia, which changed in October 2023. According to the court’s decision, until the extradition process of the citizen of Tajikistan, he will remain in the temporary detention center in Sečovce in Košice.