Japan’s leaders should use the upcoming state visit by the Turkmen president to raise concerns about the appalling human rights situation in Turkmenistan and to press for concrete improvements.

Turkmenistan’s release of the environmental activist Andrei Zatoka from prison on November 6, 2009, is a welcome development, but reports that the authorities effectively forced him to leave the country and confiscated his apartment, having already brought false charges against him, are troubling.

Turkmenistan should immediately release a well known environmental and civil society activist who was sentenced to five years in prison today on bogus charges, Human Rights Watch said. The trial of the activist, Andrei Zatoka, violated international fair trial standards.

I request that this letter be given to the General Prosecutor of Turkmenistan, the Embassy of the Russian Federation of Turkmenistan and the representative of the OSCE in the instance of my arrest, disappearance or unfortunate circumstance.

Turkmen authorities should immediately release an activist arrested on what appear to be politically motivated grounds.

Human Rights Watch joined the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and 14 other groups in issuing a statement today calling on governments and companies that have recently gained access to Turkmenistan to use their connection to improve the lives of the country’s more than 5 million people. The groups said these governments and companies should also press Turkmenistan to allow international civil society groups and human rights organizations to work in the country.

President Berdymuhamedov’s response spurred careful optimism that promised reforms in the sphere of human rights might be real : “Please, this is not an issue”, he said. “There are no restrictions”.

At the time of this writing, Berdymukhamedov has been in power for two and a half years, ample time to conclude that the promises made that day at Columbia have not been fulfilled.

Turkmen authorities should immediately revoke a new travel ban imposed on students bound for foreign private universities.