A court ruling July 26 upheld a motion by the Justice Ministry which claimed that Arkansas-based Winrock International, registered in Uzbekistan since 1994 as an organization helping farmers boost their crops, has been supporting local NGOs and allegedly produced video and print materials misrepresenting traditional gender roles in Uzbek society.
"The appellate board of the Tashkent City Court has rejected an appeal by Winrock International's office against the court's ruling to shut it down," the spokesman said.
He said the appeal, filed by John Baxter, head of Winrock International's operations in Uzbekistan, focused on a breach of legal procedure at the July 26 hearing, and did not dispute the Justice Ministry's main allegation that the NGO's activities did not correspond to its stated goals.
Dozens of foreign NGOs and media outlets have been forced out of Uzbekistan since the West harshly condemned the Uzbek government's suppression of a revolt in the eastern city of Andijan last May.
Uzbek authorities have expelled the Eurasia Foundation, Freedom House, the International Research and Exchanges Board, the American Bar Association, Counterpart International, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the American Council for Collaboration in Education and Language Study (ACCELS), according to IRIN, an independent news service within the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
