The sentencing of Solizhon Abdurakhmanov, a human rights activist, prompted calls for extended sanctions on Uzbekistan.

The Asian Development Bank, representing countries from Japan and China to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, unanimously approved a $40 million loan to Georgia.

An Uzbek journalist and human rights advocate, Solizhon Abdurakhmanov, went on trial on charges of trying to sell drugs.

Seventeen years after the end of the Soviet Union, cotton is still king in Uzbekistan, where the environmental destruction linked to the diversion of rivers for irrigation continues unabated.

A prominent Uzbek human rights advocate was freed on Monday after more than two years in captivity, a release that coincided with a visit by an American official.

Western governments say that further ostracizing the regime would increase instability in the region.

The Soviet Union collapsed almost 17 years ago, but for many on the outer edges of the empire it feels like yesterday.