Russian human rights journalist deported

The Uzbek government on Saturday deported Russian human rights journalist, Igor Rotar, after he had spent two days in detention at Tashkent airport. John Kinahan, assistant editor for Forum 18 News Service, an agency covering religious freedom in the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe, commented on the significance of the deportation in a statement. "The case has shown how religious freedom is an excellent 'litmus test' of the state of human rights and that attention should remain on the extremely grave human rights situation still faced by Uzbekistan's people." Rotar, who wrote for a number of Western media outlets, including Forum 18 and regularly reported on Uzbekistan, was detained by Uzbek immigration officials on Thursday upon his arrival on a flight from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The fact that he was released at all underscores the importance of international pressure on the increasingly isolated Uzbek government following a bloody crackdown in the southeastern city of Andijan in May. As many as 1,000 civilians were killed in the disturbances. Tashkent has remained adamant in refusing to allow an independent international inquiry into the incident and has worked hard to bar foreign journalists such as Rotar from entering the country. Rotar's case also brought with it a further barrage of international criticism, calling for the journalist's immediate release. "Igor Rotar's detention is part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the Uzbekistani authorities that escalated following the events in Andijan in May this year," Amnesty International (AI) said in a statement on Friday. According to the watchdog group, his detention reportedly took place on the orders of the National Security Service of Uzbekistan. However, when approached by a Western embassy, Uzbek authorities reportedly denied ever having heard of the journalist, let alone holding him at the airport. "Uzbekistan is the region's leading jailer of journalists and we are very concerned for Igor Rotar's safety," said Ann Cooper, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "We call on President Islam Karimov to ensure that authorities release our colleague immediately and end their campaign of harassment and intimidation of independent journalists," she added. Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director of the Vienna-based International Helsinki Foundation (IHF), added his voice to criticism of the Uzbek regime following the deportation. "The Uzbek government has an abysmal record when it comes to free circulation of information and the circumstances of this case clearly suggest that it may be politically motivated," said Rhodes. While Tashkent has reportedly refused to comment on the case, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Rotar's detention was part of a widespread government crackdown following events in Andijan. Dozens of Uzbek and foreign journalists, local human rights and political activists have been arrested. Many have been detained, beaten, threatened and harassed. Some have fled the country out of fear for their safety, the watchdog group said in a statement.