A researcher for Human Rights Watch has been attacked in southern Uzbekistan. Human rights activists who wanted to meet Tanya Lokshina in Karshi and Margilan were also prevented from doing so.
Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, says the incidents are evidence of Uzbekistan's continuing policy of intimidation against human rights defenders. "Uzbekistan's international partners have been praising the government for human rights improvements, but this praise is wholly undeserved. Anyone who tries to report on human rights in Uzbekistan clearly risks getting attacked, arrested or worse," she said on December 10.
"What happened to Lokshina and the people who tried to meet her has frequently been happening to human rights monitors in Uzbekistan, and it shows the government has something to hide. It is high time Uzbekistan's international partners speak out, loud and clear, to say that this despicable practice must stop," Cartner added.
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