To: Mr. Morris TIDBALL-BINZ

 

Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

 

 

 

Ms. Alice Jill Edwards

 

Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

 

 

 

Mr. Fabian SALVIOLI

 

Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence

 

We, representatives of civil society, express concern about yet another death of prisoner. 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 and was allowed to take his body.

 

https://turkmen.news/v-turkmenistane-pravoohraniteli-do-smerti-zapytali-molodogo-cheloveka-video/

 

 

 

Hudayramov's body was given to his relatives after an autopsy; according to many signs, he was tortured before his death, as evidenced by numerous injuries on his body and head, and 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.

 

 

 

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 forced to seek the right to protection. It is reliably known that upon the forced return to Turkmenistan, the following citizens of Turkmenistan were deprived of their liberty:

 

 

 

Ashyrbay Bekiev was expelled from Russia on August 30, 2023, and upon return was sentenced to 23 years in prison. The fate of other persons in the list is unknown:

 

Rustam Seitkulyev (1977), extradited from Russia on September 17, 2023;

 

Farhat Meymankulyev (1992), extradited from Turkey on May 19, 2023;

 

Maksat Baymuradov (1993), deported from Turkey on September 11, 2023;

 

Rovshen Klychev (1980), deported from Turkey on July 12, 2023;

 

Dovran Imamov (1991), deported from Turkey at the end of August 2023;

 

Serdar Durdulyev (1989), deported from Turkey on October 17, 2023;

 

 

 

It has become extremely difficult for many citizens of Turkmenistan to obtain refugee status in the European Union, the United States and Canada, as the New Migration Rules of the European Union limit the opportunities to enter these countries despite the obvious risks of mortal danger in Turkmenistan for persons persecuted for political reasons.

 

 

 

Dear Special Rapporteurs,

 

The tragic fate of Turkmenistan citizen Allamurat Hudayramov and the total lack of information about the other above-mentioned Turkmenistan citizens deserve the attention of international experts and human rights activists. Especially when the New Migration Rules of the European Union have been adopted, limiting the ability to enter the European Union, which also impedes their further movement to the USA 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