TASHKENT, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - A court in the capital of Uzbekistan ruled Monday to ban the activities of Freedom House, a prominent international non-governmental organization, for breaking the law, a court official said.
The same court suspended the activities of the organization at the end of October, 2005 after holding an inquiry into Justice Ministry allegations that Freedom House had grossly violated Uzbekistan's registration and licensing laws and failed to provide financial reports to the authorities.
The ministry accused the NGO office in Uzbekistan, whose authorities have often been the subject of criticism from human rights activists, of setting up a training seminar for unregistered local human rights organizations without informing the authorities and failing to provide a thorough report on spending about $635,000 on various projects.
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that was founded in the United States 60 years ago. It has been a vigorous proponent of democratic values and a steadfast opponent of dictatorial regimes ever since.
Pressure on international organizations working in Uzbekistan to promote democracy, free speech and free press has escalated since disturbances last May in the eastern province of Andijan. The Uzbek authorities accused foreign aid and human rights groups of instigating the unrest.
