Karimov a Soviet-era strongman

Dour and round-faced, the 67-year-old Karimov is considered to be one of the most autocratic leaders in the former Soviet Central Asian region.

In a country of 24 million people, which gained independence after the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse, Karimov banned opposition parties from taking part in parliamentary election in December.

The 67-year-old leader, an ally of Washington in the US-led war on terror who also enjoys unequivocal backing from Moscow, has succeeded in shutting down most independent media in a country where "making offensive statements" about him leads to a prison term.

Being found in possession of a simple tract of the outlawed Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir, which seeks to create an Islamic state out of the Central Asian former Soviet republics, is also punishable with prison.

The crackdown on Islamic radicals sparked the riots in Andijan, where around 50 people were killed after gunmen took over government buildings and the prison in protest of the trial of 23 alleged Islamic extremists.

Karimov is regularly accused of cautioning torture and police brutality, which the New York-based Human Rights Watch says is widespread here.