TURKMENISTAN: BAYRAMALY LAWYER AND WOULD-BE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001611

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: BAYRAMALY LAWYER AND WOULD-BE
MEJLIS CANDIDATE GETS FOUR YEAR PRISON TERM

REF: ASHGABAT 1453

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Richard M. Miles for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Farmers' Union lawyer Abdulrahman Bayramov
was found guilty on December 16 of misappropriating land and
misusing state property, and given a four year prison
sentence. An appeal of the verdict will be filed in ten
days. Supporters opined that the primary reason for his
prosecution was his effort to become a Mejlis candidate
without government approval. Bayramov's history as a lawyer
defending local cotton farmers makes it likely that officials
might view him as a threat. END SUMMARY.

WOULD-BE CANDIDATE TRIED FOR OLD PROPERTY CRIMES


2. (C) POLOFF traveled to Bayramaly in Mary province on
December 16 to attend the trial of lawyer and longtime USAID
program implementer Abdulrahman Bayramov (reftel). On
arrival, Bayramov's colleagues and friends reported that he
was being tried for crimes relating to misappropriation of
land and for misuse of state property.


3. (C) Bayramov assisted his son in 2004 in getting
permission from local authorities to renovate a former
collective farm building, according to fellow farmer, Begli
Nuri. Bayramov's supporters showed POLOFF a document dated
late 2004 that appeared to be the minutes of a village
meeting at which it was decided that Bayramov's son would
lose the use of the building and the land due to revised land
policy. However, there are documents, dated after the
village meeting document, issued by local government bodies,
that state the land was being properly used.


4. (C) Bayramov's son, Maksat, said the misuse of state
property charge stems from 2006, when Maksat moved several
concrete plates, used for Soviet-era fence construction, from
a pile behind the barn, to the interior of the building. He
said that in 2006, just a short time after he moved the
plates into the barn, local MNB officers appeared and told
him the plates were government property. They asked him to
pay him five million manat. (COMMENT: This could have been
a bribe. END COMMENT.) A pile of similar plates remains
behind the barn, where animal waste is being heaped.

CHARGES POSSIBLY POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED


5. (C) None of Bayramov's family or friends, however,
believes that these charges were the true reason for his
prosecution. All with whom POLOFF spoke believed that
Bayramov was being prosecuted for his attempt to become a
candidate for Mejlis deputy. Nuri said Bayramov supporters
had gathered a list of other local farmers who had committed
the same kinds of infractions that Bayramov's son had, but
who had never been charged, fined or arrested.

IRRITATED OFFICIALS


6. (C) Accrding to Nuri, Bayramov irritated provincial
leadership in recent years with the legal advice and
assistance he provided to local cotton farmers, who sought
his help with issues that frequently arose when it was time
to sell their cotton to provincial authorities. Nuri said
local officials routinely came up with ways to reduce the
tonnage of cotton they purchased from farmers, in particular
by declaring as much as 20 percent of the weight as "waste."
This allowed officials to receive the entire ton but then pay
for only 800 kilos. Bayramov would uncover the scam and try
to help protect farmers from such practices.

ACCESS TO COURTROOM RESTRICTED


7. (C) Bayramov's trial was set to begin at 9:00 a.m. at
the Bayramaly district court, but the doors did not open

ASHGABAT 00001611 002 OF 002


until 11:15 a.m. Bayramov arrived in a police vehicle,
escorted by three Internal Affairs officers, and was taken
inside. Internal Affairs officers then appeared at the door
to the court building, and read a list of about ten names of
close family and witnesses who would be allowed into the
court room. The officers then indicated that the court room
was too full, and no one else could attend the trial. Some
25 family members, co-workers and friends stood outside in
the freezing weather to support Bayramov. The crowd
expressed their disbelief with this news and argued with the
officers for some time. As they did so, a smaller subset of
people moved to the right side of the building, where a
window into Bayramov's court room was located. Within
minutes, two additional officers appeared outside and moved
the people away from the window, and guarded the window for
the next hour and a half, until the cold drove those standing
outside into warm cars.


8. (C) Around 1:00 p.m., Maksat Bayramov, who had been able
to sit in the court room, emerged and told the people
gathered outside that the prosecutor had made his statement
and had questioned Bayramov. Bayramov served as his own
legal counsel, having fired the defense lawyer supporters had
hired after his arrest in November. Finally, witnesses had
each spoken, and all had reportedly spoken positively of
Bayramov. (COMMENT: We don't know if they served as
character witnesses or addressed the charges themselves. END
COMMENT.) Maksat indicated that the judge would soon reach a
verdict. (NOTE: Not including the verdict, the trial was
one and a half hours in length. END NOTE.) Supporters
appeared to be pleased with this news, and continued to wait
for the proceedings to conclude. At about 1:30 p.m., the
court adjourned, the judge having reached a verdict.

CONVICTED ON BOTH CHARGES


9. (C) Witnesses said the judge found Bayramov guilty of
the charges, and approved the prosecutor's request that he
receive a sentence of four years in prison. Shocked
supporters talked among themselves and most of the women
cried. Moments later, Bayramov was shuffled out of the court
building and through the crowd, again surrounded by four or
five officers. Bayramov's family and friends surrounded
them, calling out words of support to Bayramov and
criticizing the officers who pushed him into the car. None,
however, were brazen or angry enough to shout at or touch the
men as they got into the car. Bayramov's cousin, Shageldy
Hojageldiyev, said they will appeal the court's decision in
ten days, and fellow lawyer Ata Gulibchev said he would
provide a copy of the verdict to POLOFF when he comes to
Ashgabat in the coming week.


10. (C) COMMENT: Bayramov, who has long been known as
someone "outspoken," has not endeared himself to local
officials. His attempt to run for parliament as an
independent candidate may have further irritated officials.
Interestingly, he was detained not long after he loudly
complained at a reception hall full of foreign diplomats of
his inability to make the ballot. It is quite possible that
he is guilty of the stated charges. However, in a country
where corruption is rife, greasing palms and working
connections is the usual way of dealing with unpleasantries.
Those options may have run out for someone who has burned
bridges with officials. END COMMENT.
MILES