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March 16, 2011

Uzbekistan Expels Human Rights Watch 
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Uzbekistan has expelled employees of Human Rights Watch after what the
group calls years of government harassment. Human Rights Watch has
recently criticized attempts by the United States and the European Union
to repair relations with Uzbekistan, saying it should be held
accountable for a human rights record that includes torture, the murder
of unarmed civilians and the arbitrary jailing of activists and
journalists. Uzbekistan provides a key supply route for military
shipments to Afghanistan. On Tuesday, Democracy Now! reached Steve
Swerdlow, Human Rights Watch's Uzbekistan Researcher.

Steve Swerdlow: "Uzbekistan has one of the worse human rights records in
the world. It's synonymous with torture in its criminal justice system.
It's known for forced child labor in the cotton sector. And, it's also
known for the continues imprisonment of dozens of human rights
activists, independent journalists and political figures. With our
expulsion today, we are extremely concerned what impact it will have on
the increasingly isolated and beleaguered civil society in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan has been playing an increasingly strategic role with the U.S.
because it allows it to transit material to Afghanistan. For that
reason, the U.S.—and the E.U.—are turning an increasingly
blind eye to the situation there. Today, Human Rights Watch is calling
on the United States and European Union to publicly condemn the
expulsion of Human Rights Watch and, more importantly, the crackdown on
the remaining civil society activists."



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