Andijon Witness On Trial For Talking To Reporters

Zainabitdinov is on trial for telling foreign reporters what he saw during the violence last spring (file photo) (epa) 10 January 2006 -- Reports from Uzbekistan say rights activist Saidjahon Zainabitdinov has gone on trial for his descriptions of the bloody clash between demonstrators and security forces last May in the eastern city of Andijon.

Family members and activists said today that the trial has started, with the charges against Zainabitdinov listed as defamation and anti-government activities.

Zainabitdinov gave foreign reporters detailed accounts of the Andijon events. Witnesses say troops shot into the crowd, killing possibly hundreds of civilians. The government maintains that 187 people died in an extremist uprising.

The government has refused international calls for an independent inquiry into the 13 May violence. In the past three months, Uzbek courts have convicted some 150 people in closed-door trials criticized by human rights groups.

(Reuters/AP)