TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The British Broadcasting Corp. has announced it will suspend its news-gathering operations in Uzbekistan due to security concerns.
Regional head Behrouz Afagh said that staff members in recent months had been "subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation," making it difficult for them to work, the BBC reported Wednesday.
All local staff members are being withdrawn, and the office in the capital, Tashkent, will close for at least six months.
Afagh said the BBC remained committed to covering events in Uzbekistan and that "its English-language correspondents will continue to seek access to the country and to report on events there as and when they are granted visas."
In June, BBC correspondent Monica Whitlock was forced to leave Tashkent under pressure from the government. Since then, two local staff members have been granted refugee status by the United Nations.
Since the May uprising in the eastern city of Andijan, in which up to 500 protesters reportedly were killed by government troops, and especially since the trial beginning last month of 15 men accused of leading the uprising, independent media in Uzbekistan have faced increasing constraints.
