A senior Turkmen official has denied reports of torture of human rights activists in custody, instead blaming the activists for their arrests or injuries.Vepa Hajiyev, Turkmenistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, made the comments while addressing the 82nd session of the UN Committee against Torture, which was held on April 23 to 24 in Geneva.
Hajiyev referred in particular to the cases of two individuals, raised by human rights defenders.Allamurat HudayramovBody of Allamurat Hudayramov given to his reativesMary region resident Allamurat Hudayramov, who died in police custody three days after his arrest, allegedly died of toxic poisoning with tramadol, Hajiyev told the UN committee.
Initially the prosecutor’s office had said that Hudayramov might have inflicted his own fatal injuries under the influence of tramadol.In fact, Hudayramov was killed, and his body bearing numerous signs of torture was returned to his relatives.Traces of torture on Hudayramov’s bodyVepa Hajiyev denied that Hudayramov had died as a result of torture while in police custody. “On October 16, 2023, a criminal case was opened against him under Article 338 (part 2) of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, after which he was placed on the wanted list,” Hajiyev said.According to him, Hudayramov hid for six weeks “in very difficult conditions in a mountainous area without food or medicine, surviving by excessive use of toxic medicines containing tramadol hydrochloride.”Hajiyev did not say where Hudayramov obtained tramadol, if he didn’t have food or other medication.Traces of torture on Hudayramov’s body“At the time of his arrest on November 27, 2023, Hudayramov already had numerous bodily injuries received while he was in hiding in the mountains,” Hajiyev continued. “Three days after his arrest, i.e.
November 30, 2023, he died of toxic poisoning as a consequence of taking the aforementioned medication.”The story of ethnic Baloch Allamurat Hudayramov emerged in December 2023.His body bore numerous signs of torture when it was returned to his relatives.
No part of his body was untouched: marks left by handcuffs can be clearly seen on his wrists and shins, the soles of his feet are covered in bruises, and marks from a soldering iron are visible on his legs, back, and shoulders.
There are also traces of blows, possibly from a truncheon, on his back.Moreover, his relatives say that Hudayramov went to the police station voluntarily when he heard that they were looking for him.Marks of torture on Hudayramov’s bodyThe Prosecutor General’s Office refused a request from Hudayramov’s relatives to open a criminal case into their loved one’s death.
Deputy Prosecutor General Rahim Atayev said in a letter to the family that the wounds “were in places that the deceased could have reached with his own hands; taking into account the mechanics of their creation the possibility cannot be ruled out that the injuries were self-inflicted.”According to the prosecutor’s office, the direct cause of death was “swelling on the brain caused by the toxic impact of the medication tramadol’, which led to herniation through the opening at the base of the skull.”This claim, like Vepa Hajiyev’s other claims, is an outright lie.
It’s impossible for this kind of wound to the soles of the feet, the backs of the thighs, the back, and the buttocks to be self-inflicted.The body of the deceased bears marks from a soldering iron, handcuffs, and blows from a truncheon.
If Hudayramov tortured himself, where did he get hold of a soldering iron, handcuffs, and a truncheon while in custody?Did he torture himself while the police stood by and watched?
Why didn’t they stop him flagellating himself?Hajiyev told the sitting of the UN Committee against Torture that in 2018 Allamurat Hudayramov had been found guilty of dealing in psychoactive substances and had been pardoned in 2020.“The claims that his bodily injuries, allegedly the result of torture, were the cause of death have not been substantiated, which is confirmed by the repeat conclusion of the forensic examination,” Hajiyev said.Mansur MingelovHajiyev said that reports of torture of Mansur Mingelov, an imprisoned Turkmen activist for Baloch rights, had not been substantiated.
He gave the activist’s diagnosis, though tuberculous arthritis of the joints in both knees.“As for Mr Mingelov, the law-enforcement agencies of Turkmenistan conducted an investigation into the alleged human rights violations, including torture and cruel treatment on ethnic grounds,” Hajiyev told the commission. “The investigation did not register any evidence confirming that such violations took place during the criminal proceedings or during his stay in places of detention.”In June 2012, investigators from the now defunct Service for Combatting Narcotics arrested Mansur Mingelov on suspicion of drug smuggling.
While he was in custody, Mingelov was badly beaten and his leg was broken.Two weeks later Mingelov was released because there was no evidence a crime had been committed.
He made a complaint about torture to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the president.He also collected documentary evidence of another 11 cases of beatings and torture of other ethnic Balochis.
People said on record that employees of the law-enforcement agencies crushed their bones with chisels, pulled their scrotums with pliers, gave them electric shocks, and beat them with chair legs and plastic bottles.Mingelov was re-arrested as he left the US embassy in Ashgabat, where he had taken CDs with the testimony of the Balochis.
A case was fabricated against him of drug smuggling, involving minors in anti-social activities, and spreading pornography.He was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment.In 2018, Mingelov nearly died of tuberculosis, and later developed osteomyelitis in his leg complicated by TB.
He was transferred to the prison hospital but was regularly threatened with return to the strict regime colony because he refused to have his leg amputated.In summer 2024, a medical commission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Ashgabat visited the hospital.
The doctor, Professor Elena Geldyeva, who examined Mansur said that they could not treat his illness in Turkmenistan, but amputation was not necessary, as Mansur’s leg was still warm and he could still move his toes.
It would be possible to save his leg with treatment abroad.According to a presidential decree from 2017, prisoners with written medical confirmation of serious disease should be released, but Mingelov has not been given a written diagnosis.
Vepa Hajiyev denied this accusation from rights activists too.“The prisoner was diagnosed and was told about it tuberculous arthritis of the joints in the left and right knees,” Hajiyev said. “Under Article 76 of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, an illness incompatible with further detention is considered grounds for the immediate release of convicts.
A decision on this issue is taken by a court on the basis of the medical conclusion of an interdepartmental examination commission.”Hajiyev did not make clear, however, whether or not Mingelov’s illness is grounds for release.
At various times the UN Committee for Human Rights, American senators, and various international organizations have all called for Mingelov’s release.There is a wholly official document a Turkmen presidential decree allowing for the release of this tortured prisoner, but every time Mingelov’s case is raised, the Ministry of Internal Affairs calls a halt to proceedings, and the question of Mingelov’s release disappears from the agenda.
The case requires a decision at the level of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.The release of an innocent man after 13 years of imprisonment would seriously enhance the president’s authority.