24.04.2014

Urgent Action

A Turkmen citizen of Baloch origin faces imminent transfer to Ovadan-Depe prison in Turkmenistan. During his previous time at the prison he was regularly beaten.

Mansur Mingelov, 39, is serving 22 year sentence in LBK/11 prison in Seidi, Lebap province in north-eastern Turkmenistan. Mansur Mingelov was first arrested in connection to a criminal case involving his brother on 6 June 2012, a day after his brother was arrested. On 6 June Mansur Mingelov was allegedly beaten by officers of the State Service for Security Protection of Healthy Society of Turkmenistan (former State Drug Control Service). He also witnessed his brother being beaten by security services during interrogation. They were both sentenced after an unfair trial on 10 September 2012 on charges… >> подробнее

12.04.2014

Shahin Abbasov

The lack of an agreement between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan ranks as a central obstacle to moving ahead with a Trans-Caspian pipeline.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is creating an opportunity for two feuding Caspian-Sea energy powers, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, to become export partners. The latest signal that Azerbaijani-Turkmen relations might be heading for a thaw came on April 2, when Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov (photo) paid an unexpected visit to Baku. The trip marked the first such mission by a high-ranking government official from either side since 2009. Bilateral relations between the two states have never been great during the post-Soviet era. The two have haggled over three Caspian… >> подробнее

20.03.2014

David Trilling

Central Asian governments are eyeing events in Crimea nervously, fearing that Russia’s heavy-handed assertiveness against Ukraine could bode ill for them.

As Western governments mull additional sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion and subsequent annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, Washington and Brussels won’t be the only world capitals watching to see the impact: Should the new restrictions bite into Russia’s economy, they will have a painful trickle-down effect on the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Twenty-two years after they formally freed themselves of Moscow’s dominance, most of the region’s economies are still intricately tied to Russia’s. Kazakhstan is bound to Russia by a customs union, while the region’s two poorest… >> подробнее