Uzbek Rights Activist Arrested On Extortion Charges

Colleagues of a leading Uzbek human rights defender say he has been arrested on extortion charges.

Agzam Turgunov is the executive director of the Tashkent-based human rights group Mazlum and also a member of the unregistered Erk opposition party. He was arrested in the western Karakalpakstan region, where he was a lawyer in a civil case.

Turgunov's colleagues tell RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the case is politically motivated and aimed at silencing the activist.