PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 57/003/2002
9 October 2002
Further information on Extra UA 275/02 (EUR 57/002/2002, 3 September 2002)- Fear of forcible deportation/fear of torture
KAZAKSTAN/ Gulgeldi Annanyyazov (m), aged 42 TURKMENISTAN
At the end of September 2002, Gulgeldi Annanyyazov was granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The former political prisoner was reportedly in imminent danger of being forcibly returned to Turkmenistan, where he would have been at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
On 1 October, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that the USA was prepared to accept Gulgeldi Annanyyazov once he had received medical treatment. He was flown to Norway on 4 October, where he is receiving treatment for tuberculosis, possibly for two months. He has reportedly been in poor health since his imprisonment in Turkmenistan between 1995 and 1999.
Gulgeldi Annanyyazov told Amnesty International today: "Thank you for doing an action on my behalf. A criminal case was opened against me in Turkmenistan, and so I would have been detained if returned. The Turkmen authorities sent an official request to the Kazak authorities asking them to deport me to Turkmenistan. The director of the investigation-isolation prison where I was kept in Kazakstan said to me 'who are you that the President of Turkmenistan is so interested in you?'"
By not returning Gulgeldi Annanyyazov to Turkmenistan, Kazakstan acted in line with its obligations under international human rights law, in particular Article 3 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This convention prohibits the return of a person to a country or territory where they may be subjected to torture.
Many thanks to all those who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the UA network.