FILE PHOTO: Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullayev (C), was allowed to leave police custody, poses for a picture with relatives and supporters in Tashkent, Uzbekistan May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov/File Photo
TASHKENT (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan has urged the Central Asian nation and its neighbour Kyrgyzstan to set free an Uzbek journalist detained on suspicion of anonymously criticising the government on social media.
Western governments have rarely criticised Uzbekistan since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in late 2016, praising him for opening up the previously isolated nation of 34 million and releasing some prominent dissidents from prison.
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