Tobacco.org

• BAT under pressure to quit 'dire' Uzbekistan 

British American Tobacco is to face pressure to pull out of its investment in Uzbekistan, the former Soviet state strongly criticised for its human rights record.

Earlier this month, the Government asked BAT to withdraw from the brutal dictatorship in Burma. In Uzbekistan BAT has a joint venture with the regime of President Karimov, which has been strongly criticised by organisations including Amnesty International for its "dire" record on human rights and "systematic" use of torture.

"It's difficult to overstate the awfulness of what's going on," said Steve Crawshaw, UK director of the international group Human Rights Watch.

Radical Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, a strong force in Central Asia, is brutally repressed in Uzbekistan and human rights campaigners are often detained and harassed.

Jump to full article »