We, representatives of civil society, express concern about yet another prisoner death. Citizen of Turkmenistan Allamurat HUDAYRAMOV died in an institution of the Ministry of National Security of Turkmenistan (hereinafter referred to as MNS).
On November 27, 2023, Allamurat HUDAYRAMOV was summoned by an investigator of the Mary regional department of the Ministry of National Security of Turkmenistan, where he was detained. And three days later, his sister was informed of her brother’s death. Deceased HUDAYRAMOV's body was given to his relatives after an autopsy.
According to many signs, HUDAYRAMOV was tortured before his death, as evidenced by numerous injuries on his body and head (video), ruptures of the skin on his legs and other parts of the body. For example, on the head there is a scar characteristic of a traumatic brain injury incompatible with life, on the wrists and shins of the deceased there are clearly visible marks of handcuffs, on the back there are hematomas with characteristic marks from blows with a blunt object, and hematomas are also visible on the soles of his feet.
According to “Turkmen.news”, HUDAYRAMOV was suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, and in Turkmenistan the Baluchis, to whom the victim belongs, are discriminated against, and security services often persecute them on arbitrary charges.
In Turkmenistan, there is no independent forensic expertise and no legal mechanism for urgent response to reports of torture, and there are no conditions for justice. The Turkmen authorities show no interest in bringing to justice those responsible for the death of Allamurat HUDAYRAMOV; moreover, they are putting pressure on the relatives not to make the incident public.
Most at risk of torture in Turkmenistan today are those expelled from the Russian Federation, Turkey, and other countries where they are compelled to seek the right to protection. It is reliably known that upon the forced return to Turkmenistan, Ashyrbay BEKIEV was sentenced to 23 years in prison. The fate of the other imprisoned citizens of Turkmenistan in the list below remains unknown:
Farhat MEYMANKULYYEV (1992), extradited from Turkey on May 19, 2023;
Rovshen KLYCHEV (1980), deported from Turkey on July 12, 2023;
Dovran IMAMOV (1991), deported from Turkey at the end of August 2023;
Maksat BAYMURADOV (1993), deported from Turkey on September 11, 2023;
Rustam SEITKULYYEV (1977), extradited from Russia on September 17, 2023;
Serdar DURDULYEV (1989), deported from Turkey on October 17, 2023.
The tragic fate of citizen of Turkmenistan Allamurat HUDAYRAMOV and the total lack of information about the other above-mentioned citizens deserve the attention of international experts and human rights activists. This is especially of grave concern after the adoption of the New Migration Rules of the European Union, which limit the possibility to enter the European Union, the United States and Canada. Their attempts to obtain protection in Turkey have proven disastrous for many of them, because countries such as Turkey and the Russian Federation are expelling Turkmen citizens en masse to their country of origin, ignoring the obligations to comply with the terms of Article 3. 1. “No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”
Kind regards,
Reyimberdy KURBANOV, researcher on Turkmenistan, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia – AHRCA
Gvantsa LOMAIA, Master of Laws Bachelor's Degree in International Human Rights Law/Project Officer of the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)
Jodgor OBID, Human rights activist, member of the International PEN-Club, Austria
Matvey KURZUKOV, Correspondent for the site "VOT.TAK"
Leonid PIMENOV, Documentator of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
Dursoltan TAGANOVA, Turkmen human rights activist
Yekaterina CHUKAYEVA, Correspondent for the website "Media Loft"
Shaberdy OMAROV, Founder of the community "Invisible Rainbow of Turkmenistan"
Umit HALLYYEV, Independent journalist, Turkmenistan
Abdulla ORUSOV, Activist of the Movement “Democratic Choice of Turkmenistan” (DWT)
Serdar HODJANEPESOV, Activist of the Movement “Democratic Choice of Turkmenistan” (DWT)
Nurdjan SUZER, Activist of the Movement “Democratic Choice of Turkmenistan” (DWT)
Alisher SAHATOV, human rights blogger, Turkmenistan
Tahir URAZOV, Civil society activist, Turkmenistan
Zarina GAPURDJANOVA, Civil society activist, Turkmenistan
Aishenur AKDASH, Human rights activist, Turkey
Oleg RODIN, coordinator of the “Kovcheg” (Ark) project in Poland
Oksana VLASOVA, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
Nargiza MATYUSUPOVA, Civil society activist, Turkmenistan
Allamurat RAHIMOV, Independent journalist, Turkmenistan
Nadejda ATAYEVA, President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia - AHRCA, France
Alisher ABIDOV, Representative of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia - AHRCA, Norway
