CCPR/C/112/D/2069/2011
the Covenant. The Optional Protocol entered into force for Turkmenistan on 1 August
1997. The author is not represented by counsel.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
Mr. Shikhmuradov served, at various times, as Deputy Prime Minister of
Turkmenistan, as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, and as Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to the People’s Republic of China. On
11 October 2001, he arrived in Moscow from Beijing, and a few days later was invited to
go to Ashgabat to celebrate Turkmenistan’s Independence Day on 27 October 2001.
However, he was hospitalized in Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital with a suspected
thrombosis of the lower extremities. He was invited by the Minister Counsellor of the
Embassy of Turkmenistan to the Russian Federation to write a statement outlining the
reasons for his “failure to appear” at the celebrations. Instead, he wrote a resignation letter
to the then President Niyazov, in connection with his forthcoming long-term medical
treatment, and he remained in Moscow.
2.2
The author submits that, on 1 November 2001, Mr. Shikhmuradov issued a formal
statement through the Russian media concerning his intention to create an open, democratic
opposition to the regime in place in Turkmenistan through the establishment of the People’s
Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan. Soon after that statement, he received information
that criminal proceedings were being instituted against him in Turkmenistan. The
Prosecutor-General of Turkmenistan issued an arrest warrant against him on 2 November
2001, based on a criminal case pending against him since 30 June 2001 accusing him of a
number of crimes including trafficking in arms and explosives. In June 2001,
Mr. Shikhmuradov was still serving as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
Turkmenistan to the People’s Republic of China.
2.3
The author also submits that, at some point, Mr. Shikhmuradov travelled to
Ashgabat. She is not sure about the exact date, because at that time, they were not in regular
contact due to safety concerns. She had left Turkmenistan in March 2001.
2.4
On 25 November 2002, the official media in Turkmenistan published information
about an alleged attempt on the President’s life, and plans by the opposition to organize a
campaign of civil disobedience to force him to hold democratic elections. In that
information, Mr. Shikhmuradov was accused of being the mastermind behind the failed
attack. On 25 December 2002, he was arrested in Ashgabat by the Ministry of National
Security. The night before his arrest, he wrote a statement, which he transmitted abroad
through his friends, indicating his intention to surrender to the authorities voluntarily so as
to end the ongoing harassment against his relatives and friends. On 29 December 2002, the
Supreme Court of Turkmenistan sentenced him to 25 years of imprisonment for attempting
to overthrow the Government and assassinate the President.
2.5
On 30 December 2002, his sentence was changed, by decision of the People’s
Council, to life imprisonment, despite the fact that the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan did
not provide for such a punishment.1 More than 50 persons, including the brother of
Mr. Shikhmuradov, were sentenced at the same trial within a month. There were numerous
reports that they were severely tortured in detention. Mr. Shikhmuradov and many of his
co-defendants have not been seen or heard of since 2002, despite continuous attempts by
their relatives and international organizations to learn about their whereabouts and their
condition.
1
The President’s proposal (following the life imprisonment sentence being pronounced) to change the
Constitution and the Criminal Code was unanimously supported by all the delegates of the People’s
Council.
3