On December 10, 2022, 50-year-old lawyer from Balkanabat Pygambergeldy Allaberdiev was released.

In May, the UN, having considered a petition from Freedom Now and the international law firm Vinson & Elkins, recognized the detention of lawyer Pygambergeldy Allaberdiyev as a violation of international law.

P.Allaberdyev was sentenced to six years in prison on September 29, 2020 on charges of hooliganism and intentional infliction of moderate bodily harm.

We monitored this case and came to the conclusion that the real reason for the arrest and imprisonment of the lawyer of the state oil and gas production department in the city of Balkanabat was his attempt to exercise the constitutional right to the peaceful exercise of freedom of speech and freedom of association. This was evidenced by the clearly fabricated circumstances of his arrest, trial, and the excessively harsh punishment imposed by the court.

We previously reported that Pygambergeldy Allaberdiyev was arrested on September 7, 2020 due to connections with Turkmen activists living abroad who protested in various countries against amendments to the country’s Constitution and numerous violations of the rights of Turkmen citizens.

Immediately after his arrest, THF, together with other NGOs, demanded the immediate release of P.Allaberdyev and the cancellation of the sentence.

Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights