September 3, 2002

Dear President Nazarbaev,

We are writing today regarding the urgent case of Gulgeldi Annaniazov. We are asking that you ensure that Mr. Annaniazov not be delivered to the Turkmen authorities. Human Rights Watch fears that, should Mr. Annaniazov be returned to Turkmenistan, he would face certain loss of liberty and a grave danger of torture and other physical mistreatment there.

As you know, Human Rights Watch is a non-government international organization. We are a non-partisan group that has researched and reported on the human rights situation in Central Asia since the early 1990s.

Deporting an individual to a state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would face torture is prohibited under the United Nations Convention against Torture, to which Kazakhstan is a party. As a former leading dissident and political prisoner in Turkmenistan, Mr. Annaniazov has substantial grounds to fear torture and other mistreatment at the hands of Turkmen authorities.

We ask that Kazakh authorities grant Mr. Annaniazov the opportunity to apply for asylum status in Kazakhstan. To this end, we ask that he be allowed immediately to meet with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and that the latter be given sufficient time to review his case and make a determination.

Annaniazov was one of the dissident leaders known as the "Ashgabad Eight." This group of men was arrested July 12, 1995 in connection with a peaceful demonstration calling for expanded democratic reform in Turkmenistan. Police violently disbanded the peaceful protest and authorities sentences Annaniazov and his colleagues to up to 15 years in prison. Conditions in prison were brutal. A fellow-prisoner reported that Annaniazov's condition had deteriorated dramatically in custody, and he could barely walk or speak. One of his co-defendants, Charymurat Gurov, succumbed to the harsh circumstances. He died in prison, apparently as a result of torture.

After years of urging from the international community, Annaniazov was released under a presidential amnesty decree in January 1999. Other members of the dissident group had been released earlier, in April 1998.

Annaniazov fled Turkmenistan and traveled through Kazakhstan to Russia, where, as you are aware, he was detained at the Domodedovo airport.

We urge you to use your good offices to ensure the safety of Mr. Annaniazov and respectfully request that you prevent any forced deportation of him back to Turkmenistan. Mr. Annaniazov's case is one of the clearest examples of a peaceful dissident who has a genuine fear of the most brutal mistreatment if returned to Turkmen authorities.

We thank you for your attention to our concerns and look forward to a continued dialogue with you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Andersen
Executive Director
Europe and Central Asia Division
Human Rights Watch

cc:
Kassymzhomart K. Tokaev
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Qanat Saudabayev
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States