Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced in a March 29 press release that it has written a six-page letter to Kazakh President Nazarbaev asking him to investigate the forced return of Uzbek nationals from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan. The statement said that HRW has obtained new evidence linking Kazakh security forces to the seizure and return of four Uzbek nationals in November 2005. In all, nine men \"disappeared\" from southern Kazakhstan in November and were later transferred to Uzbek custody, HRW alleged. Four of them had been registered as asylum-seekers by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. HRW expressed concern about the men\'s fate and stressed that their forced return is a violation of international law. \"These men went to Kazakhstan seeking safety, but now face torture and imprisonment,\" said Holly Cartner, HRW\'s Europe and Central Asia director. She added: \"It is a violation of international law to return people to a place where they will be persecuted and tortured. Kazakh officials had an obligation to know the risk these men faced if returned, but sent them back anyway.\" (RFE/RL)