[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Tuesday criticized [press release] the decision of the UN Human Rights Council [official website] to close access to its examination of last year's uprising in Andijan [JURIST news archive] that resulted in the massacre of unarmed Uzbek civilians [BBC backgrounder]. HRW released a briefing paper [PDF text; index] that discusses the failure of the Council to publicly review Uzbekistan's human rights record and its acceptance of Uzbekistan's refusal to allow an international probe into the massacre, saying that its actions undermine the fairness and effectiveness of the body. HRW also called for the Council to institute a public review of the massacre and to review its policies in handling similar situations in the future.

In May 2005, thousands of demonstrators protesting the trial of 23 businessmen on religious extremism charges stormed a prison [JURIST report], allowing about 2,000 inmates including the businessmen to escape. In response, the government troops killed as many as 500 demonstrators [JURIST report], although Uzbek officials place the number at 187. MosNews has more.