I am writing to express Human Rights Watch’s concern about the April 26, 2006, eviction of Khajiniyaz Soiunova, the wife of former government minister Nazar Soiunov, and their adult daughter, Gozel Soiunova, from their home in Ashgabat and our objection to the forced expulsion of the two women into internal exile in Balkan province.
As you are aware, Nazar Soiunov is a former State Adviser to the President of Turkmenistan and Minister of Oil and Gas. Mr. Soiunov has resided outside of Turkmenistan since 1997, following his resignation from government service in 1994. The eviction and exile of members of the Soiunov family are violations of their fundamental rights. Human Rights Watch is concerned that these actions were politically motivated. They appear to have been taken against members of the Soiunov family in retaliation against Mr. Soiunov for his perceived affiliation with the political opposition in exile.
As you know, Human Rights Watch is an international, nonpartisan, nongovernmental human rights organization, based in the United States, and with offices in London, Geneva, Brussels, Moscow, and Tashkent. Its Europe and Central Asia division (formerly known as Helsinki Watch) has monitored and urged compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords in signatory countries since the organization was formed in 1978. Our reports are widely distributed at the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the U.S. Congress, as well as among the media and other influential actors, to galvanize support for compliance with international human rights standards.
On April 26, 2006, representatives of the local administration (Khakimlik) and Ministry of National Security raided the Soiunov apartment in the Azatlyk district in Ashgabat and ordered Mrs. Soiunova and her daughter to leave their house. The Soiunovs were given only one hour to pack their belongings and to vacate the premises. Authorities failed to present the Soiunov family with any documentation providing grounds for their eviction or confiscation of their privately owned apartment (16 B Nadsonovskaya Street, apartment 4). Authorities did not issue any advance notice regarding the eviction.
Officers of the Ministry of National Security put Mrs. Soiunova and her daughter in a truck along with their belongings and transported them to the city of Balkanabat, in Balkan province (Mr. Soiunov’s former hometown), approximately six hours from Ashgabat. The authorities instructed that the Soiunovs were to remain in there in exile, but provided no documentation sanctioning this order. Officers confiscated Mrs. Soiunova’s Turkmen passport and explicitly forbad her to leave the city of Balkanabat.
International law instruments to which Turkmenistan is a party guarantees the right to freedom of movement, including the right of a person to choose the place of his or her residence within a country, as well as the right to leave any country, including his or her own. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her property. Home eviction is regarded as a particularly serious violation of the right to adequate housing.
We urge you to take immediate action to remedy the Soiunovs’ situation and to allow the family to return to their home and enjoy their right to freedom of movement.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We respectfully request to be informed of developments in the case.
Sincerely,
Holly Cartner
Executive Director
Europe and Central Asia division
