TURKMENISTAN: BERDIYEVS CONTINUE TO SEEK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000772

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: BERDIYEVS CONTINUE TO SEEK
RECOMPENSE FOR NIYAZOV-ERA ABUSES

REF: A. 08 ASHGABAT 1472

B. ASHGABAT 598

C. ASHGABAT 644

Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Following up on recent information that the
Berdiyevs were under virtual house arrest, with security
police not allowing them to leave and forbidding visitors,
Political Oifficer made an unannounced visit to the
Berdiyev's home on June 19. There was no sign of security
officials in the area and Political Officer had a lengthy
discussion with the Berdiyevs while seated on their veranda.
Mr. Berdiyev seemed recovered from his May ordeal with the
security police and talked non-stop about the 1998 injustices
wrought by the KGB against him and his wife and their
subsequent attempts to obtain compensation. Mrs. Berdiyev
said President Berdimuhamedov's sister, a former colleague of
hers, has raised her case with the President and she expected
his decision during the next few weeks. Following the
meeting, at Mr. Berdiyev's request, Political Officer dropped
Mr. Berdiyev off at a nearby outdoor market. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On June 17, a local contact informed Post that
Bazargeldi and Ayjemal Berdiyev's home was under surveillance
by officials from the Ministry of National Security (MNB),
and that the couple was not allowed to leave and visitors
were not allowed to enter the home. (NOTE: During the past
six months, the couple has been in contact with Post to
explain their efforts to obtain compensation from the
government for Niyazov-era injustices, and to ask for Post's
assistance by advocating for them with the government
(reftels). END NOTE.) The Berdiyevs live on the ground
floor of a high-rise Soviet-era apartment block. A gated
area with a roof extends out from the building, covering a
veranda and parking area. Upon arrival, Political Officer
found Mrs. Berdiyeva and another woman seated on the veranda.
They called Mr. Berdiyev from inside the apartment, who came
and opened the gate, which was locked with a padlock. From
the veranda was an unobstructed view of the inner courtyard,
a large area with parking, ringed by several high-rise
apartment blocks. Political Officer and Embassy driver
noticed no sign of a security service presence on the
approach to or around the building and Political Officer
arrived at the Berdiyev's apartment without any hindrance.
When asked about the alleged presence of security officials,
the Berdiyevs gestured vaguely at the courtyard and beyond
and said their movements were being watched. They did not
recount any incidents in which visitors were stopped. They
said their son had been stopped by an unknown person, whom
they said was MNB, when driving his car nearby. However, the
son "was a good driver" and got away.


3. (C) Unlike during a previous visit, immediately after his
four-day detention in May (Ref C),on this day, Mr. Berdiyev
was voluble, talking virtually non-stop about his case and
demand for government compensation. He explained that he was
a wealthy businessman during the late 1990s, owned one of the
few foreign luxury cars in the city at that time, and had
even traveled to Germany to accompany former President
Niyazov during one of his trips for medical treatment. Mr.
Berdiyev said a gang of MNB officials had targeted him
because of his wealth. He then described his various efforts
since that time to obtain compensation for their property and
maltreatment, which left Mrs. Berdiyeva handicapped and in
need of medical treatment to this day. According to
Berdiyev, the MNB officials who trumped up charges against
him and seized his property were all arrested and imprisoned
following the 2002 assassination attempt against Niyazov.
Over the years, his applications and appeals to the
government have gone unaddressed. Regarding his latest
four-day detention, Mr. Berdiyev said he was taken to various
locations, always hooded, struck repeatedly, and told to stop
complaining and stop contacting the UN and OSCE. He said at
times he was left in cells with drug addicts and homeless

ASHGABAT 00000772 002 OF 002


people. Many of his cellmates were from the provinces and
had been picked up because they lacked a local residence
permit. Such people are easy to spot on the street because
they have no place to stay and look disheveled and unshaven.
According to Berdiyev, the officials take the nonresidents'
money or, if they have no money, detain them until they can
contact relatives and pay.


4. (C) A couple times when Mr. Berdiyev stepped away, Mrs.
Berdiyeva shared her own thoughts. She said that prior to
the injuries she sustained during her ordeal in 1998, she was
a medical professional and was an acquaintance of current
President Berdimuhamedov. According to her account, when he
was Minister of Health, she approached him and asked if he
had forwarded her letter of complaint/request for
compensation to President Niyazov. Berdimuhamedov allegedly
told her that on the advice of other ministers he had torn up
the letter. Mrs. Berdiyeva went on to say that the
President's sister, a former colleague of Berdiyeva has
brought the Berdiyev's case to the President's attention
recently and she expects a presidential decision in the
coming weeks. She also mentioned that the government will
not allow her to leave the country for medical treatment.
One year ago, she said they had located a sponsor to help her
obtain treatment in Germany, but that the government twice
did not allow her to purchase a plane ticket.


5. (C) COMMENT: While it is likely that there is more to the
Berdiyev's case than meets the eye, their account of their
ordeal in 1998, their detainment, the physical abuse of Mrs.
Berdiyev with lasting injuries, and the loss of their
property is credible. Nevertheless, they finally admitted to
poloff recently (ref C) that the story they had spun for
months of receiving compensation letters from the UN or the
International Court in The Hague was fictitious. In talking
to the couple, it appears that obtaining compensation for the
wrongs they suffered has become an obsession and, having
exhausted all other domestic recourse, they look to President
Berdimuhamedov and the international community for their
remaining hope. At the same time, they spoke disparagingly
of the UN, which had not helped them despite traveling to
Bishkek to present their case, and the OSCE, which had not
responded to a five-page letter that they sent in May. While
it is understandable that the Berdiyev's may feel afraid to
leave their home following Mr. Berdiyev's detainment in May,
Political Officer did not see anything during the visit that
suggested official interference with comings and goings from
their home. END COMMENT.
MILES