Prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings against Nataliya Bushueva, an Uzbek reporter working for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Bushueva is accused of tax evasion and operating without a license from the Foreign Ministry.
Her lawyer, Suhrob Ismailov, said the journalist faces up to three years in prison.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called the case a "blatant attempt to intimidate and harass" Bushueva.
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders said there had been a "dramatic increase in harassment of critical journalists," with those working for foreign media coming in for "particular surveillance."
It said they had all been forced to get official accreditation since 2006.
(with material from Reuters)