A well-known Uzbek human rights defender, Vasila Inoyatova, has been refused permission to enter Kyrgyzstan.
Uzbek human rights activists told RFE/RL that Inoyatova, the chairwoman of the Tashkent-based Ezgulik (Compassion) human rights center, was barred from entering Kyrgyzstan without any explanation when she arrived at Bishkek airport from Tashkent on June 29.
Inoyatova spent several hours in the Bishkek airport's immigration section before leaving for Paris via Istanbul early on the morning on June 30.
Kyrgyz border service officials refused to comment on the situation, saying that explanations would be provided to written inquiries only.
Inoyatova's colleagues say the situation may be linked to Inoyatova's open protests to the aftermath of violent clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan's south in 2010.
More than 400 people, mainly Uzbeks, were killed.
