From 2003 to early 2007 he was the Central Asian news correspondent for Forum 18, a human rights organization based in Norway that promotes religious freedom.
Rotar's plane took off from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and arrived at Tashkent Airport at 10:25 a.m. Amnesty International condemned the incident, saying his "detention is part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the Uzbekistani authorities that escalated following the events in Andijan in May this year.
"[1] Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said, "We are deeply concerned for Rotar's safety.
The conference, hosted by the Russia and Eurasia Program of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also featured Eric McGlinchey, assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University and Catherine Cosman, senior policy analyst for the OSCE region at USCIRF.
[3] Rotar criticized Akromiya and Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Islamist organizations, calling them "enemies of the United States and Western civilization.