MOSCOW, July 1, 2008 (AFP) - A contributor to the Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is being held by force in a psychiatric hospital, both the US-funded broadcaster and the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.

Sazak Durdymuradov 'was recently added to the ranks of inmates' at Boinuzin, a psychiatric ward in the Central Asian state's eastern region of Lebap, the Prague-based RFE/RL said in a statement.

'Officials at the clinic confirmed his presence there to RFE/RL 10 days after Durdymuradov's arrest at his home on June 20,' the statement added.

Durdymuradov 'was examined by 10 doctors who diagnosed mental instability,' Reporters Without Borders said in a statement, urging 'Turkmen authorities to free Durdymuradov at once.'

'In the light of these events, we are all the more shocked that after holding talks with Turkmenistan about human rights, the European Union said it was optimistic about the way the situation was evolving,' the group added.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a report published on June 23 that widespread human rights violations continue in Turkmenistan in spite of the president's promise to protect them.

Steps have been taken to silence those highlighting rights abuses, including journalists, with police and security forces able to act with impunity, the report added.

RFE/RL was founded at the height of the Cold War to broadcast to Soviet-bloc countries but has since switched its focus to include Central Asia. It is funded by the US Congress.