OSCE ON THE MYRADOVA CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000910

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TX
SUBJECT: OSCE ON THE MYRADOVA CASE

REF: A. TROUTMAN-PERRY 8/24/06 E-MAIL

B. ASHGABAT 840

C. ASHGABAT 698

D. ASHGABAT 652

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jennifer L. Brush for reasons 1.4 (B)
and (D).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) OSCE's Human Dimension Officer Benjamin Moreau on
August 24 passed embassy a transcript of meetings he has had
with family members of the three Turkmenistan Helsinki
Foundation activists charged in July of weapons possession
(scanned copies have been emailed to the SCA/CEN, per ref a).
The transcript bears out embassy's suspicions that there may
be more to the case than prosecution of human rights
activists. At least two of the three have previous criminal
convictions -- one for heroin possession, and the other for
bribery -- and reportedly the two main suspects have
confessed to their attorneys that they, in fact, did have
ammunition in their possession when they were arrested. The
transcript also details the frequent contacts that all three
detainees have had with their attorneys, and the almost
scrupulous care with which the government is proceeding with
this case. End Summary.

Access to Legal Counsel
--------------


2. (C) Moreau (please protect strictly) passed embassy on
August 24 a transcript of his meetings with family members of
Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation activists Ogulspapar
Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev and Sapardury Hajiyev (also
spelled Khajyev). The transcript, which begins with the
release from detention of Myradova's two daughters on July 6,
provides new -- and occasionally contradictory -- information
regarding the case and the three defendants.


3. (SBU) Upon their release from detention, Myradova's two
daughters were advised by their uncle, former Central Bank
Deputy Chairman Annadurdy Hajiyev (who was charged in
absentia of embezzlement) to contact international
organizations in Ashgabat. (Note: Hajiyev currently is
living in Bulgaria and heads the Turkmenistan Helsinki
Initiative there. End Note.) Both were dismissed from their
jobs on the day they were released; their labor books show
that both were laid off at their own request (a stratagem
frequently used here by companies to lay off family members
of detained individuals). Maral Nurmuradova, the older
daughter, had been hired as an architect by the Turkish
construction company "Belda Insaat Taahhut Tijaret Limited
Sirketi" on April 11 2006. Sona Muradova worked as an
accountant in the state-owned company "Turkmenvneshtrans"
since October 20, 2003.


4. (SBU) On July 11, the two Myradova daughters brought the
brother of Annakurban Amanklichev, Aman Amanklichev, to OSCE.
Aman expressed his intention to use his brother's case to
criticize the regime. The next day, the two Myradova
daughters returned to OSCE, stating they wanted to distance
themselves from Aman, because he wanted to put the blame
entirely on their mother. On July 14, the daughters reported
to Moreau that they had hired a lawyer for their uncle,
Sapardury Hajiyev, who had met with his client on July 13.
Muradova's lawyer had also met with his client a few days
earlier, and found her healthy.

Worked for the Police
--------------


5. (SBU) On July 18, Aman Amanklichev reported to Moreau
that he had hired a defense lawyer for his brother, and that
the attorney had met with both the investigator-in-charge of
the case, Toily Durdyev, and with his client on July 17. In
the lawyer's opinion, Annakurban had looked healthy and had
made no complaints about either his state of health or
detention conditions. Aman told Moreau that he had passed

ASHGABAT 00000910 002 OF 003


food, clothes, books and cigarettes on July 1 and 5. The
lawyer confirmed that he was to be allowed to see Annakurban
as many times as he wanted. Certain international NGOs had
offered to send money to pay for Annakurban's legal services.
Aman also indicated that his brother had been a geography
teacher, and had subsequently worked in the Ministry of
National Security for a short time, before he resigned.
Shortly later, Annakurban had been convicted of taking a
bribe to facilitate the release of a detainee. Apparently,
he could not fulfill his promise, and was arrested after the
aggrieved relative filed a criminal case against him.
Annakurban was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, but
President Niyazov pardoned him in the annual amnesty one year
later. Aman also stated that he himself worked as a taxi
driver, though he used to work for the Ministry of
Communications and National Radio and Television Company.


6. (SBU) On July 19, the two Myradova daughters again
returned to OSCE. They said they had passed packages of food
and clothing to their mother on July 7 and 12, and that
Myradova's attorney was visiting his client at least two
times a week. The attorney had been permitted to participate
in the investigatory investigations and had read some
materials, such as interrogation protocols, from the criminal
case files. The attorney believed that the case against
Myradova was questionable and contained a number of
inconsistencies. The two Myradova daughters also reported
that their uncle, Hajiyev, had received food and clothing on
July 7, and that he had access to his attorney. Separately,
Aman Amanklichev said that 13 relatives had lost their jobs
or study places after Annakurban's arrest.


7. (SBU) During a visit to OSCE on July 24, Myradova's
daughters said that their mother had been charged of weapons
possession and complained that they had not been able to
visit her. (Note: According to Turkmenistan's Criminal
Code, such visits, which may only take place once a month,
must be approved by the investigator. End Note.) On July
25, Aman Amanklichev lodged a formal complaint, in which he
stated that he was taking money from a human rights NGO in
France to cover Annakurban's legal fees. He also said that a
14th member of his family had just lost her job.

Intent to Sell Ammunition, Prior Drug Bust
--------------


8. (SBU) On July 28, Sona Myradova told Moreau that
Hajiyev's attorney had said that his client had confessed
that he had accepted bullets from Annakurban Amanklichev and
kept them at his home. Hajiyev and Amanklichev had planned
to sell the bullets. Myradova's lawyer also said that either
Amanklichev or Hajiyev had been aware of the plan to sell the
bullets, but had not admitted her involvement. Sona Myradova
also indicated that her uncle, a former police officer, had
been sentenced for drug possession. While serving his
sentence, he had become acquainted with Annakurban
Amanklichev. Hajiyev had been released during an amnesty a
couple of years ago, and had remained friends with
Amanklichev. The next day, Sona took to OSCE a number of
documents stating that Hajiyev had been sentenced on December
24, 2002 to nine years' prison for illegal possession and
storage of heroin with the intent to sell. Hajiyev and
Amanklichev had been released during the same amnesty in
November 2003.


9. (SBU) Also on July 29, Aman Amanklichev reported that a
newly hired lawyer had already met with Annakurban
Amanklichev in the presence of the investigator. According
to Annakurban, Hajiyev had confessed that he had found the
bullets in his "dacha" and had given them to Annakurban;
Myradova had been aware of this. The lawyer also confirmed
that Annakurban seemed to be in satisfactory health. The
lawyer passed through the investigator a letter to Annakurban
from his wife.


10. (SBU) The two Myradova daughters met with Moreau on July
31 and August 1, with little new information, other than to
say that their mother's case had been upgraded to "criminal
complicity" in weapons possession. During an August 3

ASHGABAT 00000910 003 OF 003


meeting, Aman Amanklichev reported that his brother had
confessed, according to one defense attorney, that he had
received ammunition from Hajiyev; Myradova continued to plead
innocence. Aman also said that he had been told that the
three detainees might also be charged with espionage and high
treason.


11. (SBU) On August 4, Aman Amanklichev again visited OSCE.
According to Aman, Annakurban's defense attorney had stated
that her client had confessed to possession of ammunition,
though he continued to maintain that he had nothing to do
with the ammunition. The attorney told Aman that Annakurban
had probably reached a plea-bargain deal with the
authorities. The defense attorney also confirmed that
Annakurban had acknowledged to him that Annakurban had filmed
prison facilities for a foreign television program, and that
he had done so in order to earn some money for his family.
The attorney had passed a new letter to Annakurban from his
wife, and his client had stated that he was not being
tortured or ill-treated, and had asked for books, newspapers
and playing cards. Finally, Aman told Moreau, a 15th family
member had been fired.


12. (SBU) On August 7, Myradova's daughters and Annakurban
Amanklichev's wife visited OSCE. Myradova's daughters said
that their mother's attorney had not seen his client since
July 17, and their requests to see their mother had been
unanswered. Amanklichev's wife said that she had
"voluntarily" quit her job after her husband's arrest and was
left without any livelihood. The two Myradova daughters
returned to OSCE on August 8, and said that an indictment
against their mother was pending and that their mother's
attorney had participated in a confrontation between Myradova
and Hajiyev. The latter had confessed in the presence of
Myradova, the lawyer and the investigator that he had found
the bullets in his dacha, brought the ammunition to
Myradova's home and handed it over to Amanklichev. Myradova
had stated that she had no knowledge of the transaction.
Myradova also told her lawyer that she had not been
ill-treated in detention.


13. (SBU) The two Myradova daughters visited OSCE again on
August 11, requesting OSCE's assistance in getting money that
they had received from abroad to Amanklichev's wife. They
also confirmed that the indictment was pending, and that the
trial could start as early as August 21. (Note: The trial
is scheduled for 10:00 am August 25. End Note.) On August
15, Amanklichev's wife visited OSCE, saying that Aman
Amanklichev had forced her and her three children out of the
house, and that she had nowhere to go. Moreau told her that
she could not be forcibly evicted from the house, since she
had a valid permit to live there. According to the Moreau,
the permit could only be cancelled at her request or by a
court decision.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) The Government of Turkmenistan implicated Moreau,
along with French Charge d'Affaires, Henri Tomasini, when the
case first went public. Moreau has kept meticulous notes of
his conversations with the relatives ever since. His
transcript fills in a number of questions about the case and
confirms our suspicion that this is not a normal prosecution
of human rights advocates. Most suspicious are the
less-than-pristine backgrounds of at least two of the three
detainees, and the uncharacteristically scrupulous care taken
by the authorities to ensure that this case proceeds
according to the letter of the law. As embassy has reported
previously, enough stinks about this case to make it an
undesirable cause celebre for legitimate human rights
advocates. End Comment.
BRUSH