Additional Name(s): Annamurad Atdayev, Атдаев Аннамурад Нурмухаммедович, Atdaýew Annamyrat Nurmuhammedowiç
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Turkmenistan
Ethnic Group: Turkmen
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 15 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: September/27/2016
Date of Sentencing: December/13/2016
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief Travel Abroad
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Hate Speech Treason & Sedition
Annamurad Atdaev is imprisoned in relation to his religious belief and activity.
On September 27, 2016, authorities arrested Atdaev following his March 2016 return to Turkmenistan from Egypt, where he had been studying Islam at al-Azhar University. He was initially charged with consecutive counts of "hooliganism" and sentenced to multiple 15 day sentences.
Following the beginning of Atdaev's trial, he was reportedly denied the right to choose his own lawyer and was subsequently given a state-appointed lawyer.
On December 13, 2016, the Ashgabad City Court sentenced Atdaev to 15 years in prison for several criminal charges, including "conspiracy to seize power" (Art. 174-1 TCC), "calls to violent change of the constitutional order" (Art. 175-2 TCC), "inciting social, ethnic or religious hatred" (177-1 TCC), and "creating an organized criminal group" (Art. 275-1 TCC).
In January 2017, Atdaev was forcibly disappeared during a prison transfer. Since then, authorities have either given conflicting information about his whereabouts or been unwilling to disclose such information to his family.
Atdaev has two children and is married to Daria Atdaeva, whom USCIRF met with in September 2017.
USCIRF Commissioners Frederick Davie and Eric Ueland, Tweet, August 30, 2023
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