The annual meeting of the EBRD\'s board of governors opened on 4 May in Tashkent with sharp criticism of the host country by Human Rights Watch (HRW) acting Director Kenneth Roth. Many international human rights organizations have criticized the EBRD for choosing Uzbekistan for its meeting, and the grounds for their objections to the venue were set out by Roth in his statement at the opening ceremony. Roth said Uzbekistan has not implemented the political and economic reforms required by the bank. The EBRD mandate requires that countries show progress in these areas in order for the bank to continue its activities with them. Roth asserted that human rights and the protection of civil liberties have deteriorated in Uzbekistan in the last year, citing specifically the deaths of eight prisoners allegedly by torture, the 6,500 known political prisoners, the harassment of journalists and human rights activists, and the \"questionable referendum\" that increased President Islam Karimov\'s presidential prerogatives. A small group of demonstrators outside the venue demanded an end to the use of torture and the release of political prisoners. The banned political group Birlik issued a statement approving the choice of Tashkent and noting that bank documents have made clear that the institution has no illusions about the situation in Uzbekistan. (centralasia.ru)