Turkmenistan
13.11.00
Urgent Interventions
Turkmenistan: arrest of Nikolai Nikolaevich Gherasimov
Case TKM 131100
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Turkmenistan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the network, that Mr Nikolai Nikolaevich Gherasimov, a journalist working for the Azerbaijani Information Agency, was reportedly arrested between 6 and 7 November 2000 and is currently detained in prison in Krasnovodsk town. Gherasimov is a citizen of Turkmenistan and a former correspondent of the “Neitralni Turkmenistan” (Neutral Turkmenistan) newspaper.
The International Secretariat is gravely concerned for his physical and psychological integrity, particularly as detention facilities in Turkmenistan have been described as “terrible”. Furthermore, the KCHR, reported that a number of deaths in detention in such facilities, have been the result of inhuman conditions of detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Turkmenistan urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Nikolai Nikolaevich Gherasimov and order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Saparmurad Niyazov, President, Office of the President, Zdaniye Pravitel`stra, Ashkabad, Turkmenistan Fax: (+9 9312) 511 430
Geneva, November 13, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Turkmenistan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the network, that Mr Nikolai Nikolaevich Gherasimov, a journalist working for the Azerbaijani Information Agency, was reportedly arrested between 6 and 7 November 2000 and is currently detained in prison in Krasnovodsk town. Gherasimov is a citizen of Turkmenistan and a former correspondent of the “Neitralni Turkmenistan” (Neutral Turkmenistan) newspaper.
The International Secretariat is gravely concerned for his physical and psychological integrity, particularly as detention facilities in Turkmenistan have been described as “terrible”. Furthermore, the KCHR, reported that a number of deaths in detention in such facilities, have been the result of inhuman conditions of detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Turkmenistan urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Nikolai Nikolaevich Gherasimov and order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Saparmurad Niyazov, President, Office of the President, Zdaniye Pravitel`stra, Ashkabad, Turkmenistan Fax: (+9 9312) 511 430
Geneva, November 13, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.