In pictures: Negative images of Uzbekistan?

An Uzbek woman looks in a mirror. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The pictures in this gallery are from a collection by Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova. They might look like simple everyday scenes, but the Uzbek authorities feel they give a negative image of the country. (Text by the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie)

An Uzbek wedding party. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The album - called Men and Women from Dawn to Dusk - was published in 2007 and contains more than 100 images of Uzbek customs and traditions. Here, a bride greets her family in a "kelin-salom".

Three Uzbek women. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The authorities accused Ms Akhmedova of portraying the Uzbek people as backward. She was charged with defamation and insulting Uzbek traditions.

Uzbek lady and man. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The general prosecutor's office in the capital, Tashkent, set up a special commission to analyse the photographs. The commission concluded that the pictures distort reality.

Uzbek children play in clay pots. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

These large clay pots called tandyr are used as ovens in Central Asia. They also make an excellent playground for children.

An Uzbek circumcision ceremony. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

Boys are traditionally circumcised in a ceremony called "sunnat-toy". The state commission described this as "cruel imagery" through which the photographer tried to "elicit pity for the little boy and show the Uzbek people as uncultured".

An Uzbek woman sweeping a street.Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The state commission said it was "interesting to note that the author likes taking images of women sweeping streets. It suggests that there are no other jobs than cleaning in our city".

A girl looks through a window into a home in Uzbekistan. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

The authorities also questioned Ms Akhmedova's choice of scenes of rural life. "By taking most of her photographs in remote villages the author's main aim is to show the hardships of life."

A group of Uzbek men praying. Photo: Umida Akhmedova

Umida Akhmedova was tried by a Tashkent court and found guilty of slander. But the judge said the photographer would automatically be pardoned under an amnesty. She said she would appeal against the verdict.