A last-minute decision by Uzbekistan to shut down a...

A last-minute decision by Uzbekistan to shut down a conference on its use of the death penalty prompted dismay among diplomats and campaigners.
Around 100 delegates including diplomats, Islamic leaders and representatives of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches were prevented by the authorities from attending the event expected to raise issues such as the secrecy and torture associated with executions in this former Soviet republic.
The authorities' decision, announced as delegates arrived for the conference, was "a serious infringement of freedom of expression," a Western diplomat said.
There was also criticism from the conference's organisers, the Uzbek non-governmental group Mothers Against the Death Penalty, which had received funding for the event from the OSCE, the British government and the US democracy group Freedom House.
"The number of executions and even the number of people condemned to death are kept secret - many parents aren't informed either when their sons are condemned or even told where they're buried and they have no right to a final meeting," Tamara Chikurova, head of Mothers Against the Death Penalty, said.