09.12.2013

International Partnership for Human Rights,
Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights

While President Berdymukhammedov promised democratic reforms when taking office in 2007, he has kept a firm grip on all branches of power, retained the closed nature of the regime, increasingly promoted his own personality cult, and continued to stifle dissent.

The upcoming parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan highlight the fundamental lack of space for political pluralism and freedom of expression in this country. The elections are set to be another pro-forma event that should prompt the international community to renew calls for true, comprehensive political reforms in Turkmenistan, said International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR). On 15 December, 125 members will be elected to the parliament of the post-Soviet Central Asian republic. These are the second elections to this body under current… >> подробнее

07.12.2013

Calls for Release

In response to a petition filed by Freedom Now, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Working Group) issued an opinion finding the detention of political activist Gulgeldy Annaniyazov by the Government of Turkmenistan a violation of international law.

The Working Group—an independent panel of five human rights experts from around the world—calls for Mr. Annaniyazov’s release. Mr. Annaniyazov is a Turkmen human rights activist and political dissident. After organizing a nonviolent anti-government demonstration in Turkmenistan in 1995, he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The government released Mr. Annaniyazov five years later as part of an amnesty, and he fled with his family to Norway. On June 24, 2008, Mr. Annaniyazov traveled from Norway, where he had been living in asylum with his family, back to his… >> подробнее

04.12.2013

The OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference-2013

Adopted by the participants of the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference, Kiev, 2-4 December 2013.

CONSIDERING that the OSCE participating States committed themselves to combatting torture and that this was stated in the 1989 Vienna Document and re-affirmed many times, including in documents agreed in Copenhagen and Paris in 1990, Moscow in 1991, Budapest in 1994, Istanbul in 1999, Ljubljana in 2005, Brussels in 2006, and Helsinki in 2008, stating, in particular, that “participating States strongly condemn all forms of torture as one of the most flagrant violations of human rights and human dignity. They commit themselves to strive for its elimination” (Budapest 1994); CONSIDERING… >> подробнее