AFP - Charges brought against a prominent Uzbek photographer that have her facing three years in prison are absurd and should be dropped, leading rights group Human Rights Watch said Friday.

Umida Akhmedova, Uzbekistan's most prominent female photographer, says she was charged after a collection of her photographs and a film were declared "slanderous" over their portrayal of life in the isolated ex-Soviet state.

"The charges against Umida Akhmedova reveal the absurd lengths the government will go to to silence independent expression," Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"The case sets a dangerous precedent and is a threat to all Uzbek artists."

The charges -- "slander with selfish ends or vile motives" -- carry a maximum sentence of three years in jail in Uzbekistan, a frequent target of criticism from rights groups.

The Uzbek prosecutor general's office, meanwhile, has denied opening a criminal case against Akhmedova.

Authorities in Tashkent rarely comment on elements of criminal cases to the press, and deflect criticism of their tough policing methods as necessary to protect the state against Islamist groups in the volatile region.

The works -- a book of more than 100 photographs of rural life titled "Woman and Man: From Dawn till Night," and a documentary film about women's rights -- dealt with topics sensitive for the government, which carefully guards its image abroad.

HRW blasted the conclusions of an expert panel convened by the government to analyze Akhmedova's work, excerpts of which were published in Russia's leading opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.

In chilling language echoing the world of Soviet art criticism, the panel concluded that the "photo album does not conform to aesthetic demands" and that it would damage the country's "spiritual values".

"It is not the role of the Uzbek government to dictate how artists should depict Uzbek society," Cartner said.