Human Rights in Turkmenistan and Central Asia

On Thursday 23rd October 2003 the European Parliament debated the human rights situation in Turkmenistan and Central Asia.

On Turkmenistan, John Bowis spoke about how Turkmenistan has become a land of torture and imprisonment, of death in custody and of intolerance towards political and religious views. He criticised the way in which President Niyazov has ruled Turkmenistan as a tyrant, both before and after the country gained its independence from the USSR.

On Uzbekistan, John Bowis called for the government of Uzbekistan to release journalist, Ruslan Sharipov, who was imprisoned earlier this year on grounds of his homosexuality. He also called on the UK Government to re-instate Craig Murray, the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan who recently left Tashkent.