The New York-headquartered organization seems to be the latest casualty in a campaign against Western NGOs that has already seen the missions of U.S.-based American Bar Association / Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, and Global Involvement through Education banned in the country for allegedly breaking the law on many occasions.
"On July, the management of the Human Rights Watch office in Uzbekistan was handed a notice that the organization had acted in breach of the republic's laws," a ministry representative said.
The spokesperson said that during a ministry inspection of the office, the NGO's representatives had failed to present documents substantiating reports of numerous violations of human rights in the country.
Human Rights Watch carried out an independent investigation into the Andijan uprising in Uzbekistan on May 12-13 last year, when 170 people were officially claimed killed, and executive director Ken Roth accused the Uzbek government of attempting to conceal the facts and called for an international probe into the events and sanctions against the country.
"In reality, the mission gathered and published fake and biased information on the situation in the republic, thereby acting in breach of media laws," the ministry representative said, adding that other violations, such as "the use of unregistered paraphernalia and acting on behalf of a parent organization" had also been exposed.
