'Deep concern' for Uzbek detainee

Sanjar Umarov was arrested on 22 October

The international pressure group Human Rights Watch has urged Uzbekistan to provide immediate medical help for jailed opposition leader Sanjar Umarov.

"We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being," said Holly Cartner, a spokeswoman for the US-based group.

Mr Umarov was arrested last month for embezzlement - a charge his supporters deny and say is politically motivated.

Last week Mr Umarov's lawyer said that when he visited his client in jail, he found him naked and incoherent.

Umarov's arrest appears to be politically motivated Holly Cartner, Human Rights Watch

His supporters, from the opposition group Sunshine Uzbekistan, allege he had been drugged by the authorities.

Sunshine Uzbekistan is a vocal critic of President Islam Karimov's repressive regime, which has banned most opposition parties and rarely tolerates public criticism.

'Immediate care'

"Sanjar Umarov needs to receive immediate medical care," Ms Cartner, Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia director, said in a statement on Tuesday.

She said his arrest "appears to be politically motivated", adding that the "authorities should release him pending an independent review of the charges against him".

At the time of Mr Umarov's arrest, on 22 October, the state prosecutor's office said he had been charged with stealing an undisclosed sum of money through his business dealings.

Sunshine Uzbekistan officials said Mr Umarov no longer had any business interests in Uzbekistan, although he did still have business contacts in America.

Last week international concern for Mr Umarov's well-being increased when his lawyer, Valery Krasilovsky, said he had visited his client in prison to find he had no clothes on, and was covering his face with his hands and mumbling.