ALMATY, March 28 (Reuters) - A New York-based press freedom watchdog condemned Uzbek prosecutors for opening criminal proceedings against a Deutsche Welle reporter and urged the Central Asian state to drop the case.

The Committee to Protect Journalists made its appeal as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other senior European Union officials started a two-day visit to Central Asia and were due to meet top Uzbek and other regional officials.

Uzbek prosecutors have accused Natalia Bushuyeva, an Uzbek citizen working for the German broadcaster, of operating without a journalistic licence and tax evasion. Her lawyer has said she could face up to three years in jail if convicted.

"The simultaneous filing of tax and accreditation charges -- coupled with Uzbekistan's unrelenting hostility toward independent journalists -- leads us to conclude that this is a blatant attempt to intimidate and harass Natalia Bushuyeva," the CPJ said in a statement late on Tuesday.

"These charges should be dropped immediately."

Rights groups had called on Steinmeier to use his trip to get tough on the often patchy human rights record in Central Asia where some leaders are criticised for cracking down on dissent and jailing opposition activists and journalists.

Uzbekistan has taken an increasingly tough line with foreign media since they reported eyewitness accounts of troops opening fire on a crowd in the town of Andizhan in May 2005.

Bushuyeva was not available for comment. The CPJ said she had fled the country.

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