According to various sources, Suleiman Tursunbaev, born in 2006, who attended sports school No. 33 in the village of Babarap, in Akhal Veleyat, passed away after we was brutally beaten by a group of grown sportsmen. He died on January 27 and was buried on January 28th.
The incident took place after Suleiman won a local judo competition on January 20th. Media sources report that the organizers of the competition demanded of Suleiman’s trainer—ahead of time—that Suleiman should throw the fight and let his opponent win. S. Tursunbaev won, but after the match, the trainer and the boy were brutally beaten. Precisely where and when this occurred is being verified.
The sportsman’s parents, Ziyada Khodzhakova and Matyakub Tursunbaev, who live in the village of Akkal, Kunyaurgen raion, Dashoguz oblast, turned to the authorities and to the public on YouTube for help in restoring justice.
Apparently, Shemshat Orazgeldyev, the deputy director of School No. 33 where Suleiman studied, closed his eyes to numerous complaints by Tursunbaev that his classmates systematically beat him, broke his bed several times, and bullied him in various ways.
The incident took place in Akhal veleyat. The beaten boy was found on the street, half-unconscious, and taken to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, they refused to treat him there, saying that he did not have Ashgabat registration papers.
Because of the quarantine, movement inside Turkmenistan is limited. Therefore, Suleiman’s relatives had to take him by car, and on January 21, they drove him to Koneurgench raion, Dashoguz oblast, which is 530 kilometers from the capital. He was admitted to the local hospital on January 22. There numerous injuries to his genitals and abdominal organs were noted; his teeth had been knocked out. His relatives were shocked that the doctors did not conduct a complete examination. For example, they did not take x-rays.
According to witnesses, before he died, the boy told his mother that he was beaten by “grown men, pumped-up athletes, because he did not throw the match as they had demanded before the competition. And he did not tell anyone because they threatened to kill his family as well.”
Despite all efforts by the local doctor, Suleiman died on January 27. The death certificate was signed by Dr. Murad Kochmetor of the Koneurgench hospital. The parents believe that their son was not saved because he was not provided with timely medical assistance and vital time was lost.
Today we were informed that a criminal case has been opened into the death of Suleiman Tursunbaev, led by police investigator Ovez Amanov in the city of Geok-Depe. During a phone call, a witness stated, "The case was just opened; I will provide details to the relatives later.”
The announcement of the death of the 14-year-old teenager has caused a storm of indignation among the Turkmen diaspora. In an effort to restrict further dissemination of details of Suleiman’s death, the authorities isolated his family from those who came to the commemoration to share their condolences. In the village of Akkal, near the Tursunbaev’s house, police have set up a post. According to turkmen.news, “Suleiman’s mother, Ziyada Khodzhakova, was taken to Ashgabat. It is unknown who took her; the woman has not yet returned home.”
According to unconfirmed sources, relatives of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mammetkhan Chakyev, and of the son of the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, took part in the beating.
In connection with the death of Suleiman Tursunbaev, Turkmen activists in the US are planning a demonstration in front of the United Nations, demanding that Ashgabat “conduct an investigation and explain who was Suleiman’s opponent in the competition, what relationship he has to those who so brutally attacked the teenager, and who is behind this.”
Turkmen Helsinki Fund for Human Rights
