Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT1655
2009-12-23 13:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF RULE OF LAW IN A HOUSING CASE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001655
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF RULE OF LAW IN A HOUSING CASE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (B) a
nd (D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001655
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF RULE OF LAW IN A HOUSING CASE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (B) a
nd (D).
1. (C) Muhammet Kelemenov, a Turkmen citizen and former
doctor, came into the Embassy on December 23 to ask for help
with an ongoing case to repossess his house. He said that he
had purchased his house in the Kopetdag district of Ashgabat
in 1997, and had been living there without any problems until
February 2009. In February, local authorities accused him of
having purchased his house illegally, and started a court
case to get him to vacate the premises. He said that since
February he has been fighting the case in the courts,
submitting copies of his purchase and registration documents
to try to prove that there was nothing illegal in the
purchase of the house. He added that the case has gone all
the way to the top, and on December 22 he filed a complaint
with the Supreme Court.
2. (C) Kelemenov told POLOFF that his lawyer said that at
this stage the law no longer has anything to do with the
case. He apparently told Kelemenov to look for someone in
the provincial government who could influence the case.
Kelemenov mentioned that during the course of the
investigation, prosecutors brought up a previous case against
him, in which he was removed from his job as a doctor. He
said that he is now working for a Turkish company, and would
not tell the local authorities where he was working, so that
they could not harass his office into firing him. He also
noted that neither he nor his wife recognized the witness
that the government brought to testify about how they bought
their house, which Kelemenov thought was strange since he
would have known anyone who was part of the process.
3. (C) COMMENT: Kelemenov has come to the Embassy before, in
one instance seeking assistance allegedly because his attempt
to register a democracy and human rights organization had
failed. (It is likely that if he had really tried to
register a democracy and human rights organization, he would
be in jail.) He has also approached OSCE for assistance,
including a plea to reinstate his job as a doctor, which he
lost because of accusations that he declared a mentally
healthy man incompetent. The variety of his requests, and
the fact that he is addressin the Embassy for help with what
are clearly local matters, leaves some doubt as to the
seriousness of his problems. However, the situations he has
described, including having his house repossessed and being
removed from his job for nontransparent reasons, are credible
in a country where connections and personal influence trump
rule of law. END COMMENT.
CURRAN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LACK OF RULE OF LAW IN A HOUSING CASE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (B) a
nd (D).
1. (C) Muhammet Kelemenov, a Turkmen citizen and former
doctor, came into the Embassy on December 23 to ask for help
with an ongoing case to repossess his house. He said that he
had purchased his house in the Kopetdag district of Ashgabat
in 1997, and had been living there without any problems until
February 2009. In February, local authorities accused him of
having purchased his house illegally, and started a court
case to get him to vacate the premises. He said that since
February he has been fighting the case in the courts,
submitting copies of his purchase and registration documents
to try to prove that there was nothing illegal in the
purchase of the house. He added that the case has gone all
the way to the top, and on December 22 he filed a complaint
with the Supreme Court.
2. (C) Kelemenov told POLOFF that his lawyer said that at
this stage the law no longer has anything to do with the
case. He apparently told Kelemenov to look for someone in
the provincial government who could influence the case.
Kelemenov mentioned that during the course of the
investigation, prosecutors brought up a previous case against
him, in which he was removed from his job as a doctor. He
said that he is now working for a Turkish company, and would
not tell the local authorities where he was working, so that
they could not harass his office into firing him. He also
noted that neither he nor his wife recognized the witness
that the government brought to testify about how they bought
their house, which Kelemenov thought was strange since he
would have known anyone who was part of the process.
3. (C) COMMENT: Kelemenov has come to the Embassy before, in
one instance seeking assistance allegedly because his attempt
to register a democracy and human rights organization had
failed. (It is likely that if he had really tried to
register a democracy and human rights organization, he would
be in jail.) He has also approached OSCE for assistance,
including a plea to reinstate his job as a doctor, which he
lost because of accusations that he declared a mentally
healthy man incompetent. The variety of his requests, and
the fact that he is addressin the Embassy for help with what
are clearly local matters, leaves some doubt as to the
seriousness of his problems. However, the situations he has
described, including having his house repossessed and being
removed from his job for nontransparent reasons, are credible
in a country where connections and personal influence trump
rule of law. END COMMENT.
CURRAN