(CNN) The international head of Human Rights Watch said he was denied entry to Hong Kong on Sunday, ahead of the launch of a report critical of the Chinese government.

Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director, said he was barred from entering the Chinese territory upon landing at the city's international airport on Sunday, with no reason given by immigration authorities.

"I had hoped to spotlight Beijing's deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Roth said in a statement on the group's website.

"The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem," he said.

The Hong Kong Immigration Department declined to comment on individual cases. In a short statement to CNN, it said the department considers "all relevant factors and circumstances of the case before deciding whether the entry should be allowed or not."

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