A letter to the President of Turkmenistan

Committee of Human Rights reporters - Batir Shah Mohammad OF, 4 yaers old, born in Russia and a citizen of Turkmenistan who has been sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for attempting to sell illegal metal & spying for Turkmenistan & Russia.

He has been held in solitary confinement for more than 6 months. He is now in Evin prison for more than two years and in the past few month he has not been allowed to contact my family.

He has wrote a letter to the President of Turkmenistan which you can read below.

Your Excellency Mr. President of Turkmenistan

Please accept my greeting from the Evin prison in the Islamic Republic of Iran. After two years of imprisonment in various security section of Even prison & more than 2 months of torment in form of solitary confinement & prolonged interrogations, I had to plead you for my freedom & reunion with my family.

I entered Iran on January 2009 representing the Russian company “Zapaliarnaya”, marketing metals supplied by this company. These metals had all the necessary legal documents & a client, who represented a branch of Iran’s government, assured me that there were no legal prohibitions on the marketing of such metals. After five months - during which I resided in Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Tehran - while I had not succeeded to sell any of my merchandise, I was arrested by agents of Iran’s intelligence ministry. They claimed that sale or purchase of the mentioned metals is illegal.

They also accused me of spying for Turkmenistan & Russia. They never paid any attention to my request for testing the metals or other evidence demonstrating my innocence. They also never bothered to provide any reason or evidence for their accusations. Through my trial I was denied from my right to attorney & even having an interpreter.

I was faced with the unbelievable conviction of 20 years of imprisonment for attempting to sell illegal metal & spying for Turkmenistan & Russia.

Mr. president.

Dering the past two years, I had many troubles - contacting my family & in the past few month I have not been allowed to contact my family at all. I am suffering from emotional pressure due to separation from family & also from kidney & digestive illness.

Mr. president.

If a fair judge or attorney of law would review my ease he/she will doubtlessly conclude my innocence but unfortunately I can not reach any one from my prison & Iran’s judiciary have disregarded my requests for a retrial in a just court.

I plead to you as the last resort. I beg you to use your position & influence to help a citizen of Turkmenistan, who has been treated unjustly to at least receive a fair trial & treatment.

Today, you are the only hope of my family & myself, because there is no saying what my children has to suffer if our current state of separation continues.

I wish the best for you in serving our glorious country, in hope that you would reunite a fellow patriot with his family.

Sincerely yours