Igor Rotar (born 1965) is a Russian journalist. From 2003 to early 2007 he was the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n news correspondent for

Forum 18 Forum 18 is a Norwegian human rights organization that promotes religious freedom. The organization's name is based on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Forum 18 summarizes the article as: *The right to believe, to worship ...

, a

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

organization based in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

that promotes

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

. He is a Russian citizen.Uzbekistan: Journalist Igor Rotar detained at Tashkent airport
Amnesty International

Background

Rotar is from Moscow, but as correspondent for "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" in the 1990s he covered events in the

Civil War in Tajikistan The Tajikistani Civil War,, group=pron also known as the Tajik Civil War, began in May 1992 and ended in June 1997. Regional groups from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan rose up against the newly formed government of Preside ...

2005 detainment

The Immigration Service and Border Guards of the

Government of Uzbekistan The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan (, Uzbek Cyrillic: Узбекистон Республикасининг Ҳукумати) exercises executive power in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The members of the government are the President of ...

detained Rotar on 11 August 2005. Rotar's plane took off from

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and arrived at Tashkent Airport at 10:25 a.m.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

condemned the incident, saying his "detention is part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the Uzbekistani authorities that escalated following the events in Andijan in May this year." Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said, "We are deeply concerned for Rotar's safety. He should be allowed to contact his organization and a lawyer, and should be released immediately."Uzbekistan: Authorities must release detained journalist
Human Rights Watch

Religious freedom conference

Rotar spoke at a conference on "Religious Freedom and State Policy in Central Asia" on 11 January 2007. The conference, hosted by the Russia and Eurasia Program of

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

(CSIS) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also featured Eric McGlinchey, assistant professor of government and politics at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

and Catherine Cosman, senior policy analyst for the OSCE region at USCIRF. Cory Welt, a fellow at CSIS and deputy director of its Russia and Eurasia Program, served as the moderator.Religious Freedom and State Policy in Central Asia
Center for Strategic and International Studies Rotar criticized Akromiya and

Hizb-ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

, Islamist organizations, calling them "enemies of the United States and

Western civilization Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...

."Igor Rotar briefs Washington on Central Asian religious issues
Registan

Works

*''Kyrgyzstan: Officials call for police to close embattled Baptist church''KYRGYZSTAN: Officials call for police to close embattled Baptist church
The Journal of Turkish Weekly *''Kazakhstan: More Planned Restrictions on Religious Freedom''KAZAKHSTAN: More planned restrictions on religious freedom
Journal Chrétien *''Uzbekistan: How many forced closures of religious communities?''Uzbekistan: How many forced closures of religious communities?
Forum 18 *''The Islamist Underground in Southern Kyrgyzstan''The Islamist Underground in Southern Kyrgyzstan
The Jamestown Foundation *''Resurgence of Islamic Radicalism in Tajikistan's Ferghana Valley''Resurgence of Islamic Radicalism in Tajikistan's Ferghana Valley
The Jamestown Foundation *''Why Extremism is on the Rise In Uzbekistan''Why Extremism is on the Rise In Uzbekistan
The Jamestown Foundation *''Terrorism in Uzbekistan: A Self-Made Crisis''Terrorism in Uzbekistan: A Self-Made Crisis
The Jamestown Foundation *''What Lies Ahead For Tajikistan?''What Lies Ahead For Tajikistan?
The Jamestown Foundation *''Hizb ut-Tahrir Today''Hizb ut-Tahrir Today
The Jamestown Foundation *''Hizb ut-Tahrir in Central Asia''Hizb ut-Tahrir in Central Asia
The Jamestown Foundation *''The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan: A Resurgent IMU?''The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan: A Resurgent IMU?
The Jamestown Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotar, Igor 1965 births Living people Terrorism in Central Asia Central Asian studies scholars Russian human rights activists