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UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000810 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  BROTHER CONFIRMS ARREST OF FORMER 
DISSIDENT GULGELDY ANNANIYAZOV 
 
¶1.  (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  PolOff spoke on June 27 with Charygeldy 
Annaniyazov, the brother of Gulgeldy Annaniyazov, a former 
political activist who left the country in 2002 after serving 
almost five years in prison in Turkmenistan.  Charygeldy 
confirmed press reports that Gulgeldy had been arrested at 
his parents' home on June 24.  He said that he did not know 
how Gulgeldy had gotten into the country, given his inability 
to obtain a Turkmen visa, but surmised that he came into the 
country from Kazakhstan.  He said the family was in the 
process of finding a lawyer to represent him, because they 
had been told that Gulgeldy would be prosecuted in one of 
Ashgabat's city courts soon.  He said they were only aware of 
one charge against Gulgeldy, and that was illegal entry into 
the country. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Gulgeldy Annaniyazov was one of the political 
activists called the "Ashgabat Eight," who were the remaining 
activists of the 27 people imprisoned for organizing a 
demonstration advocating democratic reform in 1995.  He spent 
almost five years in prison, then was freed in a 1999 prison 
amnesty.  He fled the country shortly thereafter, albeit 
illegally, and was caught up in extradition proceedings in 
Kazakhstan that eventually led to him receiving refugee 
status and resettling in Norway in 2002.  In May, opposition 
press reported that he was making plans to return to 
Turkmenistan, because he had been encouraged by the daily 
news of progress on human rights and socio-economic reforms. 
Charygeldy Annaniyazov did not know how authorities had known 
that his elder brother had returned to Turkmenistan, and 
would be found at his parents' home.  It might be that 
authorities were aware of the opposition website reports that 
indicated Annaniyazov's intention to return, and simply 
monitored the family home for indications of his return. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Although the facts of this case are 
still unclear, the unanswered question is why Annaniyazov 
chose to return to Turkmenistan and why he likely entered 
illegally.  With the majority of his family still here, they 
may have been the strongest lure.  However, it is also 
possible to consider that he may have come to Turkmenistan to 
test the parameters of the government's human rights reform. 
Whatever the reason, Annaniyazov's case -- involving an 
individual of human rights concern who nonetheless did break 
Turkmenistan's immigration law to enter the country -- blurs 
the line between a case of pure political harassment and 
legal wrongdoing.  It will be worth following how the 
authorities respond to the case.  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND