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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001254 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/GTIP AND SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2019 
TAGS: KTIP PGOV PREL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: STATE PROSECUTORS MAINTAIN THAT 
"HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS NOT A PROBLEM HERE" 
 
REF: ASHGABAT 215 
 
ASHGABAT 00001254  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Curran. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Poloff met on September 28 with four representatives 
of Turkmenistan's Prosecutor General's office -- three senior 
prosecutors and the head of the International Relations 
section -- to discuss the upcoming visit of a G/TIP Program 
Analyst.  She also provided copies of the Embassy's non-paper 
on combating trafficking in persons in Turkmenistan, which we 
had conveyed to the MFA two weeks earlier.  The non-paper 
contains recommendations for the Turkmen government to 
consider implementing during the coming months, including 
creation of a national anti-trafficking strategy, initiation 
of a public awareness campaign, training for law enforcement 
officials, establishment of a shelter for trafficking 
victims, and the investigation/prosecution of human 
trafficking cases.  The prosecutors echoed much the same 
message conveyed to Poloff in January (reftel), when they 
pointed out that human trafficking so far does not exist in 
Turkmenistan. 
 
IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE 
 
¶2. (C) Our interlocutors studied the non-paper carefully, and 
noted that they found the proposals interesting and useful, 
but commented that, other than the reference to the 
prosecution of trafficking cases, they were not within the 
purview of the Prosecutor General's functions.  On that 
point, the head of the International Relations section said 
that no cases had been prosecuted to date because trafficking 
crimes have yet to be "criminalized" (i.e. added to the 
criminal code) in Turkmenistan.  More than one of the 
prosecutors went on to underscore that human trafficking is 
"highly unlikely" in Turkmenistan, given the "close-knit" 
families and presence of "law enforcement" personnel 
throughout the country, both of which would, in their view, 
thwart any attempts to recruit victims from Turkmenistan for 
trafficking schemes of any kind.  As prosecutor Batyr 
Kulhanov expressed it, "Everyone knows everyone else in 
Turkmenistan.  Trafficking is just not a problem here." 
 
SHELTER?  BUT THERE ARE NO VICTIMS 
 
¶3. (C) The one female prosecutor in the group pointed at the 
recommendation concerning establishment of a shelter for 
trafficking victims and asked puzzledly, "A shelter?  Why 
would we need that?  There are no victims here."  Another 
conceded that some type of residential facility might be a 
good idea, in the event that it is ever needed in the future, 
but said that its focus should be on "rehabilitation."  On 
the subject of a possible public information campaign, the 
international relations head said "We have already had such a 
campaign.  The Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons was 
published in the newspaper as soon as it was enacted in 2007. 
 Everyone is aware of its existence." 
 
¶4. (C) COMMENT:  At this most recent meeting with the 
Prosecutor's Office, the atmosphere was relaxed, and the 
Turkmen interlocutors listened politely to our points. 
Senior Prosecutor Kulhanov even pulled Poloff aside 
afterwards to express his interest in joining the English 
language courses funded by INL for law enforcement personnel, 
and asked whether he might participate in a U.S. exchange 
program to learn more about anti-trafficking operations in 
the U.S. 
 
¶5. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: It comes as no surprise that the 
Prosecutor's office continues to insist that human 
trafficking does not exist in Turkmenistan.  This seems to be 
part of their standard talking points for any discussions 
with foreign diplomats, including one with a senior OSCE 
trafficking specialist who visited Ashgabat in August.  In 
talks with both UNODC and IOM, however, the same prosecutors 
have alluded to cases of trafficking that are currently being 
investigated, where at least one perpetrator has been 
charged.  END COMMENT. 
 
ASHGABAT 00001254  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
CURRAN