A rights activist in central Uzbekistan says she was detained on 15 August for an article in which she criticised the government requirement that citizens use state-issued bank cards for cash withdrawals or purchases. Saida Kurbanova told RFE/RL she was summoned to the Pakhtakor district police station in Jizzakh Province where she was “dragged up the stairs” by officers. She was released after several hours. Kurbanova added that police told her she is being sued for libel over the article she wrote and posted online in March about the difficulties faced by people using the state-issued cards.