Ashkhabad, Dec 01: Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov has freed some 8,000 prisoners from the country`s jails under an amnesty to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Turkmen officials said today. The amnesty covered 162 foreigners, mostly from Iran, Afghanistan and former soviet republics convicted of drug-related crimes, a Turkmen interior ministry source said.
Women, the elderly, underage people and prisoners in poor health, as well as those sentenced for minor crimes, were also freed, according to the source.
Niyazov, a despot who has ruled since 1989 who is also known as Turkmenbashi, or father of all Turkmen, frees thousands of prisoners annually in this former Soviet Republic.
He escaped with his life on Monday after an assassination attempt that observers suggested may have been staged by powerful elites increasingly alienated by arbitrary sackings and cabinet reshuffles.
Bureau Report