25 August 2006

Alert

Three journalists and human rights activists sentenced to prison


Incident details

Ogulsapar Muradova, Annakurban Amanklychev ( Annakurban Amanklytchev ), Sapardurdy Khajiev

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(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it was "disgusted" by the "absurd, unjust and disgraceful" six and seven-year prison sentences imposed on 25 August 2006 on two Turkmen journalists working for foreign media.

It condemned the decision of the court in Ashgabat as orchestrated by "President-for-Life" Separmurad Nyazov as part of a secret prosecution and a trial that lasted only two hours without any independent observers present.

"Nyazov himself decides what prison sentences are to be handed down in a country where press freedom does not exist under a regime that is one of the most brutal in the world towards the media," it said.

Ogulsapar Muradova, local correspondent for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Annakurban Amanklychev, who works with a French production company, Galaxie-Presse, were given six and seven-year jail sentences for "illegally possessing cassettes," along with a fellow human rights activist, Sapardurdy Khajiev, who got seven years for the same offence (punishable under article 287-2 of the criminal code). All intend to appeal against the convictions.

The three are activists with the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and were arrested between 16 and 18 June.

President Nyazov, who calls himself the "Turkmenbashi" ("Father of All Turkmens"), is on the Reporters Without Borders international list of 35 "predators of press freedom."

Turkmenistan is in 165th place (third from the bottom) on the Reporters Without Borders 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Only Eritrea and North Korea have a worse record.



Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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More on this case

President urged to extend amnesty for 11 political prisoners to include journalists 20 August 2007 President Nyazov asked to include two imprisoned journalists in independence anniversary pardon 18 October 2006 Journalist Ogulsapar Muradova dies violently in prison 14 September 2006 CPJ alarmed by reports of abuse in journalist's detention 15 August 2006 Journalist's three children, human rights activist released 6 July 2006 CPJ condemns arrest of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and her children, harassment of her family 22 June 2006 Journalist arrested, her family members harassed 20 June 2006

Turkmenistan

Reporter Dovletmurad Yazguliyev sentenced to five years in prison 6 October 2011 Activists arrested on eve of EU Parliament visit 28 April 2011 Activist confined to psychiatric hospital for talking to radio station 8 April 2011 Journalists' health deteriorates in prison 21 September 2009 Human rights activist, who had helped distribute information about Turkmenistan to the world, amnestied after being imprisoned for alleged "embezzlement" 10 December 2008 See all alerts: Turkmenistan


 
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