Uznews.net, Tashkent, 25 Jul 2008 – The Uzbek authorities have expelled the representative of Human Rights Watch, Igor Vorontsov, who has been waiting for accreditation in vain, and banned him from entering the country.
A staff member of Human Rights Watch said that under pressure from the Uzbek government the organization’s representative Igor Vorontsov had to leave Tashkent on 19 July.
Vorontsov, who arrived in Uzbekistan in February 2008 as the Human Rights Watch representative, had hoped to receive accreditation from the Justice Ministry, although this ministry issued an official refusal in May.
The ministry justified its refusal to accredit Vorontsov by saying that he lacked professional skills and that he had the poor understanding of the mentality of Uzbeks so that he was not able to understand President Islam Karimov’s reforms.
However, Human Rights Watch continued to fight for the accreditation of its representative and in doing so was helped by the EU and the US and German governments which had repeatedly raised the problem of the organization’s accreditation during meetings with Uzbek government officials.
Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth visited Tashkent this month and held meetings with Uzbek officials to persuade them to accredit Igor Vorontsov and allow him to work in the country.
The expulsion of Vorontsov from the country few days after Roth’s visit means that the organization’s talks with the Uzbek authorities were not successful and that Uzbekistan is not ready to improve the human rights situation or tolerate the influential human rights organization in the country.
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