Gulgeldy Annaniyazov is an activist from
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. He was initially arrested in 1995 for organizing a peaceful protest.
After four years, he was released under a presidential pardon
and fled to
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and eventually
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
.
[ Following the death of Saparmurat Niyazov and the resulting change in government, he moved back to ]Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
in 2008. At that point, he was arrested again on charges of "illegal border crossing," and sentenced to eleven years in prison, even though the Turkmen criminal code stipulates a maximum sentence of ten years for that charge. Another five years were later added to the charge. He was released from prison in 2019, but is still in "conditions that amount to detention."
Background and arrests
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
became independent from the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1991; however Saparmurat Niyazov remained president for life. In response to this, Annaniyazov along with other members of the "Ashgabat
Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشقآباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...
Eight"[ organized the country's first pro-democracy protest.][ The government of Turkmenistan routinely quashes dissidents.
Following his 1995 arrest, there were reports that he was subjected to torture, and one of his co-defendants, Charymurat Gurov died in prison.] He was released in January 1999, allegedly to coincide with a visit from Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
to Turkmenistan.[
Following his release, he left the country for Kazakhstan, and eventually Norway,][ where he received ]political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
in 2002.[ Following the death of Niyazov, Annaniyazov returned to Turkmenistan in 2008, hoping to contribute to democratic change.][
He was arrested again at a family home in 2008.][ He was sentenced to eleven years in prison in a closed trial on October 7.]
His wife and three of his children remained in Norway.[ Another daughter was allegedly prevented from leaving Turkmenistan after his arrest.][
He was moved to ]Garabogaz
Garabogaz () is a city subordinate to Turkmenbashy District, Balkan province, Turkmenistan, on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Until 2002, the municipality had the status of a town and was named ''Bekdaş'' .
Etymology
The city takes its name fr ...
in March 2019, a "Caspian coastal area where the salted air makes breathing difficult, and which takes days for visitors, including, family members in Ashgabat, to travel to visit,"[ and where he is still being forced to work for the government.][ In May 2019, his family was allowed to visit him for the first time since his arrest.][
]
International response
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) is a body of independent human rights experts that investigate cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. Arbitrary arrest and detention is the imprisonment or detainment of an individual, by a State, wi ...
issued an opinion that the detention of Annaniyazov violated international law on 27 August 2013.[
United States Senators ]Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...
, Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
, Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Campbell Brown (; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Ohio, a seat which he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Ohio's ...
and Representative Tom Malinowski
Tomasz "Tom" P. Malinowski (; born September 23, 1965) is an American politician and diplomat who is the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 7th congressional district. A Democrat, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Huma ...
wrote a letter to Berdymukhamedov asking for the release of Annaniyazov, along with Nurgeldy Halykov and Khursanai Ismatullaeva in November 2021.[ He was also included in a letter, signed by eleven senators, calling for the release of unjustly detained prisoners in ]Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.
The Ambassador from Norway to the OCSE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
emphasized Annaniyazov's case in relation to Turkmenistan's human rights record.
References
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Turkmenistan activists
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