Annaniyazov, Gulgeldy

Gender: .
State of concern: .

Who, Why and How exiled:

Annaniyazov organised a non-violent anti-government demonstration in 1995 in Turkmenistan, and was later arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison (Prove They Are Alive, 2018). Five years later, the Turkmen authorities release Annaniyazov as part of an amnesty and he fled to Norway in 2003 (Prove They Are Alive, 2018).

Category of exile: . (Definitions here.)
Alleged affiliation: Civil society.

Which stages experienced: Stage 1   not Stage 2   Stage 3. (Definitions here.)
Date of most serious incident: 2008.
Violence experienced: .

Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests):

Annaniyazov’s daughter was told that she would not be allowed to leave the country when she tried to travel to Norway in 2008 (Prove They Are Alive, 2018). After she received a letter from her imprisoned Father in 2013, she had more visits from the Turkmen police (Prove They Are Alive, 2018).

Stage 3 details (attack/ abduction/ rendition/ torture/ assassination/ death):

The Turkmen government responded to his peaceful demonstration by sentencing him to 15 years in prison.

Annaniyazov was “arrested promptly” when he returned to Turkmenistan in June 2008 and he was then sentenced to 11 years in prison “on charges that were not made public” (Human Rights Watch, 2014). The Turkmen government reportedly brought additional charges against him in connection with the anti-government demonstration he organized in July 1995. It has also been reported that these charges have increased the length of Annaniyazov’s prison term (Freedom Now, n.d).

International arrest warrant: .

Countries of transit, asylum and/or residence: .

Current status:

Annaniyazov remains in prison with little information about his well being available (Prove They Are Alive, 2018).

His sentence was set to end in 2019, but has been extended an additional five year. He is being held in a Caspian coastal area making it exceedingly difficult for family to visit (Human Rights Watch, 2019).


Press sources:

Human Rights Watch. (2014). Turkmenistan: The Dozens of "Disappeared". Available: https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/11/26/turkmenistan-dozens-disappeared. Last accessed 19th March 2018.

Prove They Are Alive. (2018). Annaniyazov, Gulgeldy. Available: https://provetheyarealive.org/thedisappeared/8-annaniyazov-gulgeldy/. Last accessed 19th March 2018.

Freedom Now (n.d). Gulgeldy AnnaniyazovTurkmenistan. Available : http://www.freedom-now.org/campaign/gulgeldy-annaniyazov/ Last accessed 6 April 2018.

Human Rights Wach. (2019). End A Dissident's Ordeal in Turkmenistan. Available: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/13/end-dissidents-ordeal-turkmenistan. Last accessed 18 January 2020.