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Appeal Cases
Amnesty, Wed 6 Aug 2003
TURKMENISTAN: APPEAL CASES 6 August 2003, AI Index: EUR 61/012/2003; public Background on the human rights situation in
Turkmenistan An alleged assassination attempt on President Saparmurad Niyazov's motorcade in the capital city of Ashgabat on 25 November 2002 that left
the President unharmed has opened the flood gates for increased repression and human rights violations committed by the authorities of Turkmenistan. Dozens of
people were convicted to prison terms up to life imprisonment following grossly unfair trials. Scores of men, women and children have faced detention,
harassment, evictions from their homes, and confiscation of property. Many of them were reportedly targeted solely because of their family relations with the
regime's opponents. There have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of many of the defendants and their relatives in detention. In many cases the
defendants' lawyers were given little or no notice before the court hearings began. Some lawyers representing the defendants in court reportedly began their
plea with the words "I am ashamed to defend a person like you..." To Amnesty International's knowledge, family members of those imprisoned
have to date not been given permission to visit their relatives. There have been allegations of continued ill-treatment of those convicted in relation with the
November 2002 attack and Amnesty International is extremely concerned for their safety. Prior to the November 2002 attack on the President,
Turkmenistan's human rights record was already dismal, including a climate of extreme intolerance of dissent, severe restrictions of political and civil
liberties, persecution of religious minorities, recurring imprisonment of conscientious objectors, and tight control of the media and freedom of expression.
Though the new wave of repression is extraordinary, it nevertheless reflects the harsh practices that human rights groups have documented throughout recent
years. A series of unfair trials following the November 2002 events At the end of December 2002, at least four opposition
figures accused of masterminding the November attack - Boris Shikhmuradov, Nurmukhammet Khanamov, Khudayberdy Orazov, and Saparmurad Yklymov - were sentenced
to 25 years' imprisonment by the country's Supreme Court. The latter three were sentenced in absentia. The sentences were increased to life imprisonment
the following day by the Khalk Maslakhaty, which consists of representatives of the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches of power.
Amnesty International believes that the trial fell far short of international standards. Reportedly, none of the defendants in the trial was represented by an
independent lawyer. In Boris Shikhmuradov's televised 'confession' that was believed to have been dictated to him, he stated: "I and my allies
... are not opposition members but ordinary criminals and drug addicts ... there is not a single decent person among us; we are all thugs ... I am not a man
able to rule a state ... I am a criminal able only to destroy the state." According to official sources, Boris Shikhmuradov - who had been in exile since
he defected in November 2001 - entered the country shortly before the attack on the President and Turkmen secret police detained him on 25 December.
At least another 55 people were convicted in a series of closed trials that were believed to have opened on 13 January 2003. The defendants were not
represented by independent lawyers. In many cases the defendants' lawyers were given little or no notice before the court hearings began. The defendants were
reportedly forced to sign a document saying they were familiar with the documentation of their criminal case and the indictment, without being given the chance
to study these documents. Representatives of embassies and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) who requested to observe the trials
were not given access to the court hearings. Amnesty International received reports that many of the defendants were tortured and ill-treated in pre-trial
detention (see below) and that "confessions" extracted under torture were used as evidence in the trials.. Torture and
ill-treatment Twenty-one-year old student Aili Yklymov and his elder brother Esenaman - relatives of Saparmurad Yklymov - were arrested the day of the
attack on the President. According to credible sources, Aili Yklymov was beaten so severely in the basement of the Ministry of National Security in Ashgabat on
5 December 2002 that he was unable to walk and had to be taken to questioning on a stretcher. Aili Yklymov was released in mid December, but had to sign an
undertaking not to leave Ashgabat. His father told Amnesty International that as a result of the ill-treatment in custody, his son has difficulties
concentrating and is almost constantly tired. Esenaman Yklymov was reportedly also ill-treated in custody the day he was arrested and his ears bled
as a result; when he was released the following day he was unable to hold a pen in order to write. At the beginning of January 2003, Esenaman Yklymov was
forced to denounce his parents on television and was reportedly sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Both brothers reportedly received no treatment for their
injuries while in custody. Other members of the Yklymov family have also been allegedly detained and tortured or ill-treated. Amanmukhammet Yklymov,
who was reportedly sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on 19 January 2003, is said to have been tortured in the Ashgabat city police building following his
arrest on 25 November. His family claim that as a result of the torture, he lost the sight in his left eye and the hearing in his left ear. His left arm was
reportedly broken and he is hardly able to move. Sources allege that a plastic bag was put over his head to restrict his breathing, and that he was suspended
by his arms, and forced to wear a gas mask, to which the air supply was cut off. The court reportedly ignored Amanmukhammet Yklymov's allegations that he was
tortured in custody. Another brother, Orazmamed Yklymov, reportedly confessed that he was involved in the attack on the President following
threats by law enforcement officers that his son would be tortured if he did not confess. There were reports that Orazmamed Yklymov appeared in court with a
dislocated arm and a swollen eye, and that he was unable to hear in one ear. He was reportedly sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on 19 January.
Yklym Yklymov, another brother, went into hiding following the 25 November attack. His girlfriend's sister Svetlana Prokofyeva and the mother of the two young
women were reportedly tortured using electric shocks, and beaten with rubber truncheons and plastic bottles filled with water, in an attempt to force
them to disclose Yklym Yklymov's whereabouts. Davlatgeldi Annannyyazov, the brother of former political prisoner Gulgeldi Annannyyazov, was detained
on 30 November 2002 in Ashgabat. He was reportedly ill-treated by agents of the Security Service. Gulgeldi Annannyyazov told Amnesty International from exile
in Norway on 6 December: "When they detained Davlatgeldi the officers beat him and ridiculed him in front of his wife and children. Then they took him to
the Interior Ministry and beat him there. I received information that they ill-treated him to force him to denounce me and that they recorded his words on a
tape recorder." Others who were detained and reportedly ill-treated included Batyr Berdyev, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the OSCE
who was arrested on 8 December 2002. Three officers of the Ministry of National Security reportedly attached him to a door with handcuffs and then beat him.
Batyr Berdyev was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment on 21 January 2003 in connection with the 25 November attack. Long-standing political
prisoner Mukhametkuli Aymuradov Political prisoner Mukhametkuli Aymuradov was convicted in 1995 of a number of charges, including "attempted
terrorism," and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment after a reportedly unfair trial. In December 1998, an additional 18 years imprisonment was added to
his sentence in connection with an alleged prison escape attempt. Mukhametkuli Aymuradov is reported to have been denied appropriate medical treatment for a
heart attack, a gastric ulcer and recurring inflammation of the kidneys, bladder and gall bladder. Unofficial sources have also said that Mukhametkuli
Aymuradov's eyesight has deteriorated. A regulation, reportedly in force since January 2002, permitted his wife to visit him in the maximum security prison in
the Caspian town of Turkmenbashi once every three months for 20 minutes. Amnesty International is calling for the release of long-standing political prisoner
Mukhametkuli Aymuradov on the grounds that repeated calls for a fair retrial of his case have gone unheeded and there does not appear to be a prospect of his
being given a fair trial. In addition, the organization is concerned about reports that Mukhametkuli Aymuradov's state of health continues to be very poor and
that he is denied appropriate medical treatment. Religious Minorities and Conscientious Objectors Under the Law on Freedom of Conscience
and Religious Organizations, religious congregations are required to register with the government, and since re-registration of religious organizations was
made compulsory in early 1997 only two groups - the Russian Orthodox Church and Sunni Muslims - obtained registration. Those belonging to religious groups
that are not officially sanctioned, such as the Armenian Apostolic Church, Baha'i, Buddhists, Hare Krishna devotees, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Jews, have been
denied any public religious activities and have faced imprisonment, deportation, internal exile, house eviction and harassment for years. Many have faced
harassment by the authorities also for religious activities carried out in private, for example, when holding services in private homes. Amnesty International
has documented many cases in which members of religious minorities were tortured or ill-treated by law enforcement officers. Many foreign missionaries have
been deported from Turkmenistan in recent years and several ethnic Turkmen followers who advocated a religious belief other than those officially sanctioned
have been forced into exile or have been sent into internal exile. In addition, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Sunni Muslim community are under
strict state control and members of registered religious groups have apparently also been targeted and punished when daring to express any kind of dissent.
There is no civilian alternative in Turkmenistan for young men who object to compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. Those who refuse
conscription face imprisonment under criminal law. Amnesty International continues to receive reports of young men imprisoned in Turkmenistan solely for their
refusal to serve in the army on religious grounds. Twenty-year-old Kurban Zakirov, a Jehovah's Witness, is currently serving a prison sentence of
eight years in particularly harsh conditions in a labour colony in Turkmenbashi. He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in May 1999 for refusing to serve
in the army on religious grounds. Since then, he was allegedly twice denied release for his refusal on conscientious grounds to swear an oath of allegiance to
President Saparmurad Niyazov, first when he was pardoned in December 1999 and again upon completion of his sentence around April 2000. Following his second
refusal, a new criminal case was brought against him and he was sentenced to an additional eight years' imprisonment. There is reason to believe that this case
was fabricated to punish him for his religious beliefs. On 2 July 2002 21-year old Nikolay Shelekhov was sentenced a second time for his objection to
serve in the army on religious grounds. The Jehovah's Witness was convicted of "evasion of military call-up" (Article 219 Part 1 of the Criminal Code
of Turkmenistan) and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment by the President Niyazov District Court in the capital city of Ashgabat. Appeals lodged against his
sentence with Ashgabat City Court and the Supreme Court were turned down in August and October respectively. Nikolay Shelekhov is still suffering from
illnesses, including kidney problems, contracted during his previous imprisonment between August 2000 and December 2001. RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send letters to President Niyazov in English, Russian, Turkmen or your own language, asking him to: immediately and unconditionally
release all prisoners of conscience, including Nikolay Shelekhov and Kurban Zakirov and political prisoner Mukhametkuli Aymuradov,
convicted in 1995 in an unfair trial; ensure that all those convicted in connection with the 25 November 2002 events as well as all other political prisoners
who were sentenced following unfair trials are granted a retrial in procedures which meet international standards of fairness; and ensure that independent
trial observers are granted access to the trials;carry out impartial and thorough investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment, including
of Batyr Berdyev, Aili, Esenaman, Amanmukhammet, Orazmamed and Yklym Yklymov, Svetlana Prokofyeva, her mother, Davlatgeldi Annanyyazov
(Turkmenistan's former Ambassador to OSCE), and others detained following the 25 November 2002 events; publish the findings of these investigations; bring
to justice those found responsible and provide full reparation to the victims;grant access to the prisoners detained following the events of 25 November 2002
by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other independent bodies and the prisoners' families; ensure that parcels with medicine and food can be
passed to the prisoners;ensure the protection of the human rights of the family members of known or perceived government opponents;ensure respect for the human
rights of civil society activists and ensure that non-governmental organizations and civil society activists are able to carry out their peaceful activities
free from harassment and persecution;ensure that everyone in Turkmenistan is able to exercise peacefully their right to freedom of religion without threat of
imprisonment, detention or harassment.release promptly and unconditionally all those imprisoned for their refusal on conscientious grounds to perform military
service, and refrain from imprisoning anyone else as a conscientious objector; introduce legislative provisions to ensure that a civilian alternative of
non-punitive length is available to all those whose conscientiously-held beliefs preclude them from performing military service. SEND LETTERS TO:
President, Saparmurad NIYAZOV Turkmenistan; 744000 g. Ashgabat; Apparat Prezidenta; Prezidentu Turkmenistana NIYAZOVU S.A; TURKMENISTAN Faxes: +
993 12 - 35 51 12 (if your fax doesn't go through, please send it by post) Salutation: Dear President, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan,
Rashit Ovezgeldiyevich MEREDOV Turkmenistan; 744000 g. Ashgabat; pr. Magtymguly, 83; Ministerstvo inostrannykh del Turkmenistana; TURKMENISTAN;
Ministru MEREDOVU R. Faxes: +993 12 - 35 42 41 Salutation: Dear Minister e-mail: mfatm@online.tm List of the members
of the EU-Kazakstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and Delegation for Relations with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Mongolia (as of April 2003): On. DI PIETRO, Antonio , Chairman Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform
Party Italy 2.ê. KOUKIADIS, Ioannis , Vice-Chairman Group of the Party of European Socialists Greece 3.Mr
BOWIS, John , Vice-Chairman Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats United Kingdom
4.Mme BORDES, Armonia , Member Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left France 5.Mr
CALLANAN, Martin , Member Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats United Kingdom
6.Mr CORBETT, Richard , Member Group of the Party of European Socialists United Kingdom 7.Mr FORD,
Glyn , Member Group of the Party of European Socialists United Kingdom 8.Frau JEGGLE, Elisabeth , Member
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats Federal Republic of Germany 9.Sr. LAGE, Carlos
, Member Group of the Party of European Socialists Portugal 10.De Heer MAAT, Albert Jan , Member Group of the
European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats Netherlands 11.On. MUSSA, Antonio , Member Union for
Europe of the Nations Group Italy 12.M. SAVARY, Gilles , Member Group of the Party of European Socialists France
13.Mme SCHAFFNER, Anne-Marie , Member Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats
France 14.Herr SICHROVSKY, Peter , Member Non-attached Austria 15.De Heer STAES, Bart ,
Member Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance Belgium 16.VATANEN, Ari , Member Group of the European People's Party
(Christian Democrats) and European Democrats Finland The personality cult of President NiyazovPresident Niyazov has written a book,
called Rukhnama, which is compulsory literature in schools and universities. Everyone, who wants to enter university, has to know parts of this book by
heart. Soldiers and prisoners have to swear an oath on the book, which President Niyazov compares to the Bible and the Koran. There is a public holiday for the
Rukhnama (12 September).The text of the national oath reads as follows: "Turkmenistan, my beloved Motherland, my beloved Homeland! You are
always with me in my thoughts and in my heart. For the slightest evil against you may my hand be lost. For the slightest slander about you may my
tongue be lost. At the moment of my betrayal of my Motherland, of her sacred banner, Of Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, may my breath stop." There
are statues and posters of him everywhere; there is even a 12 m high golden statue, which follows the path of the sun, so that his face is always in the sun.He
has given himself the title "Turkmenbashi (Father of all Turkmen) the Great" His birthday and the birthday of his mother are public holidays.He has
renamed all the months, January is now TurkmenbashiHe has developed a new system to divide up the ages of his people. He himself has just moved from the age
of the prophet to the age of inspiration.After having received medical treatment abroad last year, he was allegedly greeted by his ministers with a
speech, from which we copy you some extracts: Our love for you has no limits. We are your dedicated assistants, your companions-in-arms who are ready
for the sake of the great goal and bright path even to lay down our lives...Holding their breath, our people lived in anticipation of seeing you again, of
hearing your voice, your speech full of wisdom and sharp wit. People had only one concern - for how you were feeling - and they asked God for your
recovery... ******** AI INDEX: EUR 61/012/2003 6 August 2003
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