A Kazakh consul has been denied permission by Uzbek authorities to visit dozens of jailed Kazakh citizens in the city of Nukus, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported.
The 27 Kazakhs were arrested in February for allegedly crossing the Kazakh-Uzbek border illegally.
Consul Babur Daurenbek, who is attached to the Kazakh Embassy in Tashkent, was in Nukus in anticipation of a visit.
The director of the Kazakh Bureau on Human Rights in Astana, Anar Ibrayeva, told RFE/RL that the arrestees say they lost their way in a blizzard and found themselves on Uzbek territory.
Ibrayeva said that area of the Kazakh-Uzbek border is poorly marked.