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Turkmenistan
1813. By letter dated 18 June 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning:
1814. Amanmuhamedov Yklymov (cited in a previously transmitted communication, E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 1789). All contact with or news about Amanmuhamedov Yklymov stopped on 20 February 2003. He reportedly died as a result of torture in March 2003 while he was still in custody.
1815. Alexei Prokofiev. He was arrested on 26 or 27 November 2002, suspected of having allowed Yklym Yklymov, the older brother of Amanmuhamedov Yklymov (see above) to hide at his home. Upon arrest, he was tortured in order to reveal Yklym Yklymov’s whereabouts. Alexei Prokofiev died in custody in December 2002.
1816. By letter dated 18 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning B. S., a child of Uzbek citizenship living in Grulanskij district. On 14 April 2003 he was herding cows and sheep near the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, when he was caught and beaten by Turkmen border guards. On the following day, he was found unconscious by his parents. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder, and a broken leg and finger. An enquiry was begun upon his father’s request by the Public Prosecutor. The Turkmen authorities, who were asked to start an enquiry, turned down the request. On 3 May 2003, nine members of the boy’s family went to the Turkmen border post and asked for the culprits to be punished. The border guards responded with warning shots in the air.
Urgent appeals
1817. On 16 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, regarding Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev, a critic of the Government’s policies. According to the allegations received, he was forcibly confined to a psychiatric hospital in the town of Nebitdag, in the Balkan region, on 10 February 2004. He was confined solely for the non-violent expression of his political views.
1818. On 4 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, regarding Rakhim Esenoy, a 78 year-old journalist, Igor Kaprielov, his son-in-law, and Ashirkuli Bayriyev, a journalist. According to the allegations received, Rakhim Esenov was summoned to the Ministry of National Security (MNB) on 23 February 2004, accused of smuggling 800 copies of his banned novel Ventsenosny Skitalets (“The Crowned Wanderer”) into Turkmenistan. During questioning Rakhim Esenov suffered a stroke and was taken to hospital. He was already in poor health before his detention, having recently suffered a heart attack.Two days after his stroke he was interrogated again and placed in an intensive care unit in hospital, where he was under the strict control of the Security Service. The following day at approximately 1pm Security Service officers took him away from the hospital and the investigator told his daughter that he had been arrested and put into the MNB’s investigation-isolation prison. On 23 or 24 February Igor Kaprielov was taken to the MNB and accused of conspiring with Rakhim Esenov in the smuggling of the books. His whereabouts are now unknown. Ashirkuli Bayriyev was summoned to the MNB in the evening of 1 March, possibly because of his close relationship with Rakhim Esenov. It is reported that almost four hours later an MNB officer called his wife to inform her that her husband had been arrested.
1819. On 28 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression, regarding Khalmurat Gylychdurdyev. He is a radio correspondent and a regular contributor to Radio Liberty. According to the allegations received, he was detained by officers of the Ministry of National Security (MNB) on 23 June 2004 and is now believed to be held in incommunicado detention. He was seen for the last time on the morning of 23 June 2004 when he went to the eye hospital in Ashgabat for a check-up. The hospital staff later told his daughter that when he left the hospital he was taken away by three men in a car. His relatives went to the MNB building on 23 June to search for him, but were not given any information. The officer on duty that evening told them that Khalmurat Gylychdurdyev was talking to "the boss". Since Khalmurat Gylychdurdyev started to give interviews to Radio Liberty several months ago he has been summoned to the MNS several times. An MNS official urged him to praise President Niyazov in his interviews, and he was told to stop his contact with the radio station if he wanted to avoid any repercussions.ç
1820. On 30 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the
Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, regarding Vepa
Tuvakov and Mansur Masharipov. According to the allegations received, they were arrested
in their home town of Dashoguz, near the border with Uzbekistan, in May 2004 and sentenced
to 18 months’ imprisonment for refusing military service on religious grounds. Both young
men are Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose faith forbids them to serve in the army. Reports indicate
that Turkmen conscientious objectors have in the past been beaten in detention and threatened
with repercussions if they did not renounce their faith.
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This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on July 27, 2005.