For the past decade President Niazov has presided over a disastrous human rights situation. The government tolerates no dissent, tightly controls the media and curtails freedom of expression. The only sanctioned religions are Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodoxy; other religious faiths are persecuted. Ethnic minorities are discriminated against. Freedom of movement is severely restricted. The government does not allow non-governmental human rights organizations to operate. It has banned the circus, opera and philharmonic orchestra and closed the Academy of Sciences. Though the new wave of repression is extraordinary, it nevertheless reflects the harsh practices that human rights groups have documented throughout recent years.
On November 25, 2002 gunmen assaulted the president's armoured motorcade, injuring one person. President Niazov was unharmed. According to official reports, 67 people have been arrested on charges of involvement in the assassination attempt, although many believe the figures to be higher. Fifty-nine people have been convicted in closed trials by the Supreme Court and Ashgabat City Court, which lack judicial independence. Eight were given sentences of life imprisonment - three were sentenced in absentia - and 51 were given sentences ranging from five to twenty-five years of imprisonment. The defendants did not have attorneys of their own choosing and some of the government-appointed attorneys reportedly expressed, in public, disgust at the prospect of defending their clients. Many of the detainees were reportedly tortured and ill-treated to force them to confess or to incriminate others.
On November 25, 2002 gunmen assaulted the president's armoured motorcade, injuring one person. President Niazov was unharmed. According to official reports, 67 people have been arrested on charges of involvement in the assassination attempt, although many believe the figures to be higher. Fifty-nine people have been convicted in closed trials by the Supreme Court and Ashgabat City Court, which lack judicial independence. Eight were given sentences of life imprisonment - three were sentenced in absentia - and 51 were given sentences ranging from five to twenty-five years of imprisonment. The defendants did not have attorneys of their own choosing and some of the government-appointed attorneys reportedly expressed, in public, disgust at the prospect of defending their clients. Many of the detainees were reportedly tortured and ill-treated to force them to confess or to incriminate others.