TURKMENISTAN MOJ OFFICIALS INTRIGUED BUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001350

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL
AID/W FOR EE/AA (BOB WALLIN)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KIRF EAID TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN MOJ OFFICIALS INTRIGUED BUT
NONCOMMITTAL ON COOPERATION AND EXCHANGES



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On December 7, Deputy Assistant Secretary
(DAS) Erica Barks-Ruggles and other delegation members met
with Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials to discuss
registration of religious groups and NGOS as well as various
opportunities for possible cooperation. MOJ officials
discussed requirements and procedures for registering
religious groups. MOJ officials also indicated that they may
be interested in exchanges between Turkmen and U.S. lawyers,
particularly IVP programs and international conferences.
They did not, however, have a response to any suggested
programs and activities for cooperation either at this
meeting or those given to the MOJ by USAID in October. MOJ
also stated that it wants to reflect international and
European standards on both the prosecutorial and defense
sides of Turkmenistan's legal system, and said that "there
should be an adversarial procedure in place." END SUMMARY.

REGISTRATION OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS


3. (SBU) On December 7, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS)
Erica Barks-Ruggles met with Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
officials, including Chief of the Department of Information
and Legal Assistance Kumush Gurbanyazova, Chief of Department
on Foreign Relations and Registration of Public Organizations
Serdar Valliyev, and Chief of Department on Registration of
Regulations and Laws Amangeldi Orazov. The officials stated
that registration of religious groups is regulated by the Law
on Religion. Under this law, Turkmenistan's government will
register a religious group comprised of up to 50 people, or a
religious organization comprised of over 50 people. The
Council on Religious Affairs reviews the application
documents first, followed by the Ministry of Justice. The
officials stated that an interagency commission issues final
decisions on the registration of religious groups and
organizations and noted the commission has registered two
groups since September 2007. The delegation urged the MOJ to
accelerate registration procedures and make requirements
clear, as a number of applications have been pending for
years.

AMENDED CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE


4. (SBU) DAS Barks-Ruggles suggested that the United States
could offer training on the amended criminal procedure code
to prosecutors and judges, and on Rule of Law through USAID
and other agencies. She noted that a series of proposals on
these issues had been given to the Ministry by USAID in
October and gave the MOJ participants another copy. Orazov
mentioned that the Human Rights Commission and MOJ have
discussed cooperation with the American Bar Association on
legal education for lawyers and prosecutors. He added that
he and his colleagues would pass the offers of assistance to
their superiors.

TRAINING ON NGO REGISTRATION


5. (SBU) DAS Barks-Ruggles also suggested that the United
States could offer assistance in streamlining the process of
registering NGOs, including by holding seminars and supplying
legal databases on how other countries treat NGOs. Susan
Fertig-Dykes, Acting Director of Democracy/Governance and
Social Transition at USAID, added that USAID offers workshops
on taxation and registration of NGOs, monthly law seminars
for the public, publication of local government legislation
-- and all could be done in either the Russian and Turkmen
languages. Gurbanyazova said that she thought that this
assistance might be useful, and said that she supported
lawyers exchanging ideas with one another, but was
non-committal on specifics. DAS Barks-Ruggles said that the
Embassy would follow up. (NOTE: Gurbanyazova participated

ASHGABAT 00001350 002 OF 002


in the Anti-Corruption Conference in June 2007 in Ashgabat,
organized by DOS International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
(INL) through DOJ's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial
Development Assistance and Training Programs (OPDAT). She
also traveled to Miami and Washington, D.C. on an OPDAT
rule-of-law study tour in November 2006. END NOTE.)

TURKMENISTAN CLAIMS MEMBERSHIP IN REGISTERED RELIGIOUS GROUPS
NOT NECESSARY


6. (SBU) Orazov noted that, according to Article 11 of
Turkmenistan's Constitution, it is not necessary to belong to
a registered group in order to freely practice religion. DAS
Barks-Ruggles acknowledged that some religious organizations
did not want to register, but added that the American
government wants all those who wish to do so to be registered
in a timely manner. Orazov said that his government is
always willing to register organizations, "if their ideas do
not contradict the interests of the government."
Gurbanyazova claimed that the MOJ is willing to work with
groups wanting to register and even offers assistance on
questions about the registration process. Barks-Ruggles
urged them to accelerate registration processes.

TURKMENISTAN AIMS TO MEET INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS


7. (SBU) DAS Barks-Ruggles said that the U.S. government
wants to help Turkmenistan meet international standards for
treaty obligations, both in the legal sense and the human
rights sense. Orazov said that his government discussed this
at "the conference in 2005." (NOTE: Orazov was referring to
an OPDAT-organized conference on criminal justice sector
reform. Participants included American judges and attorneys,
five Turkmen government agencies, and officials from Russia's
State Duma, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a law
institute. END NOTE.) Orazov stated that the MOJ wants to
reflect international and European standards on both the
prosecutorial and defense sides, with both sides being equal.
She added that "there should be an adversarial procedure in
place." DAS Barks-Ruggles said that the American side would
be willing to follow up on the 2005 seminar as Turkmenistan
revises its criminal procedure code. Orazov also noted that
he is a member of a government working group to amend
Turkmenistan's criminal procedure code.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: In Turkmenistan, acknowledgment of the
utility of exchange of ideas with American lawyers represents
progress. The meeting, however, did not result in any
specific commitments as the MOJ officials were clearly not
empowered to agree to any assistance programs. We will have
to continue to press them to see if we can move forward on
any of the outstanding USG proposals. We should, however,
focus on working with civil society, activists in the
judiciary, and lawyers to improve rule of law, their skills,
and their access to information as a first step. END COMMENT.
CURRAN