Amnesty International Report 1999 - Turkmenistan

TURKMENISTAN

At least two prisoners of conscience were imprisoned for their conscientious objection to military service. One prisoner of conscience was released. At least three possible prisoners of conscience continued to serve long prison sentences and one was briefly detained. Six political prisoners were released; at least two others continued to serve long prison sentences. One political prisoner died, allegedly as a result of ill-treatment. One government opponent was briefly detained. At least 16 people were sentenced to death, including eight women.

In April President Saparmurad Niyazov made his first official visit to the USA. In September, following a mutiny by a military unit in which several people were killed, he replaced several high-ranking officials from the Committee for National Security (KNB), as well as the Ministers of Defence and Internal Affairs.

In December the authorities announced their intention to institute a moratorium on executions.

In March Turkmenistan acceded to the UN Convention relating to the Status of  Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

At least two prisoners of conscience were imprisoned for their conscientious objection to military service; both were Jehovah's Witnesses. Roman Sidelnikov was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in June for "evading regular call-up to active military service". Oleg Voronin declared his conscientious objection to military service to the military enlistment commission in the city of Chardzhev in May. He was reportedly severely beaten and taken to a military prison in the closed city of Gushgi. In September it was reported that Oleg Voronin had been sentenced by a military court to five and a half years' imprisonment for desertion. According to reports no one had been granted access to him by the end of the year.

Prisoner of conscience Durdymurad Khodzha-Mukhammed, who had been confined in a psychiatric hospital for political reasons since February 1996, was released in April (see Amnesty International Report 1997). Following his release, he resumed his political opposition activities and gave interviews critical of the Turkmen authorities. In September, as Durdymurad Khodzha-Mukhammed was returning from a meeting at the United Kingdom embassy in Ashgabat, the capital, he was forced into a car by three unidentified men, driven to the outskirts of the city, beaten and kicked until he lost consciousness, and abandoned. It was alleged that the assault was intended to frighten Durdymurad Khodzha-Mukhammed into stopping his political opposition activities.

In December possible prisoners of conscience Mukhametkuli Aymuradov and Khoshali Garayev, serving 15- and 12-year sentences respectively in a maximum security prison (see previous Amnesty International Reports), received additional sentences of 18 years' imprisonment. There was strong evidence to suggest that they were innocent of the additional charge of an alleged escape attempt, and of the anti-state crimes of which they were convicted in 1995, and that the case against them was fabricated, solely to punish them for their association with exiled government opponents, such as Abdy Kuliyev (see below). Possible prisoner of conscience Ashirgeldy Syadiyev (see Amnesty International Report 1998) continued to serve a long prison sentence on allegedly politically motivated, fabricated charges.

Abdy Kuliyev, a former minister of foreign affairs and leader of the Turkmen opposition, was arrested at Ashgabat airport on 17 April on his return to Turkmenistan after five years in exile. He was initially detained at the investigation-isolation prison of the KNB, but later released and placed under house arrest, before being returned to Russia on 24 April. He had reportedly been charged with trying to overthrow the government of Turkmenistan, organizing an anti-government demonstration and extortion. It was not clear whether these charges had been dropped.

In April, under pressure over his country's human rights record, President Niyazov announced at a press conference in the USA that the political prisoners known as the "Ashgabat Eight" had been released from detention. They had been serving long prison sentences for criminal offences, some involving violence, arising from their participation in an anti-government protest in Ashgabat in July 1995 (see Amnesty International Report 1998). Concerns for the safety of one of the men, Khudayberdi Amandurdyyev, were heightened when one of his co-defendants, Charymyrat Gurov, died in prison at the beginning of January, reportedly after repeated beatings. Khudayberdi Amandurdyyev, Amanmyrat Amandurdyyev, Charymyrat Amandurdyyev and Kakamyrat Nazarov were released from detention in April. It emerged that two others, Begmyrat Khojayev and Batyr Sakhetliyev, had been released earlier. Gulgeldi Annanyyazov, remained in detention, allegedly because he was viewed by the authorities as one of the organizers of the 1995 protest. He had received the longest sentence – 15 years' imprisonment. There were reports that Gulgeldi Annanyyazov's health was failing. In June information emerged that a ninth man, Gurbanmurat Mammetnazarov, was serving a prison sentence for participating in the 1995 protest. In May, while serving the last year of his sentence, he was convicted on reportedly fabricated drugs-related charges and sentenced to a further four years' imprisonment.

Durdymukhammed Gurbanov, a former presidential press spokesperson, was arrested in Ashgabat in September on corruption charges relating to his time in office. There were allegations that the charges against him had been fabricated in order to punish him for a radio interview in June which was critical of President Niyazov. He was detained for several days in the investigation-isolation prison of the KNB before being released without charge.

At least 16 people, including eight women, were sentenced to death, many for drug-related offences. All were at the last stage of the appeals process and faced imminent execution. No official statistics on death sentences and executions were published and the total number of death sentences was believed to be much higher. According to unofficial sources, as many as 50 people were awaiting execution in Chardzhev alone. Andrey Voronin and Kamal Nepesov, sentenced to death in April for murder, claimed that their confessions had been extracted under torture. They alleged that their toes were crushed with pliers, that electric shocks were applied to the anus, and that threats were made against their families. They did not gain access to a lawyer until one month after their arrest.

Amnesty International called on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Roman Sidelnikov and Oleg Voronin and to introduce a civilian alternative to military service. It also called for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the allegations that Oleg Voronin was beaten. Amnesty International welcomed the release of Durdymurad Khodzha-Mukhammed. It urged the authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the attack on him.

In April Amnesty International expressed concern that Abdy Kuliyev might have been charged with serious anti-state crimes simply to punish him for his peaceful opposition to President Niyazov's government and reiterated that there was strong evidence to suggest that Mukhametkuli Aymuradov and Khoshali Garayev were innocent of the anti-state crimes of which they had been convicted. The organization also expressed concern at the new charges brought against them.

In April Amnesty International welcomed the release of six of the "Ashgabat Eight" but expressed concern that at least one remained in detention. In January the organization had called for a full and comprehensive inquiry into the allegations that beatings and ill-treatment may have caused the death of Charymyrat Gurov. In a meeting with Amnesty International, representatives of the Turkmen government disputed the allegations of ill-treatment and claimed that Charymyrat Gurov had died of tuberculosis.

The organization urged the authorities to ensure that Khudayberdi Amandurdyyev was not subjected to ill-treatment.

In September Amnesty International expressed concern about the detention of Durdymukhammed Gurbanov. The organization continued its calls for a moratorium on the death penalty and appealed for the commutation of every death sentence that came to its attention.