Ecology activist released in Turkmenistan - source
Source: Reuters
By Marat Gurt ASHGABAT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A Turkmen environmentalist detained by the authorities in December has been released from jail, a source close to the activist said on Wednesday. Andrei Zatoka was detained shortly before the Central Asian nation's autocratic leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, died from heart failure on Dec. 21. Rights groups said at the time Zatoka was at risk of torture in jail. "Zatoka was released today in the courtroom. He received a 3-year suspended sentence. It's unclear what he was charged with," the source told Reuters. Zatoka's release raised hopes that Niyazov's hardline policies might be eased -- although acting leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, set to win next month's presidential election, has pledged to continue Niyazov's policies. Under Niyazov, most civil society activists and journalists were driven into exile or jailed. He tolerated no dissent and enjoyed a personality cult in his former Soviet state. Zatoka was detained three months after Ogulsapar Muradova, a local reporter of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, died in jail following her arrest on charges of illegal weapons possession. Zatoka helped set up an environmental group in 1992 which was shut down by a Turkmen court in 2003. He has worked as an independent ecology expert since then. The source said he had already spoken to Zatoka on the telephone. "He sounded full of energy and happy," the source said.(Editing by Ralph Boulton; reporting by Maria Golovnina in Moscow, maria.golovnina@reuters.com, moscow.newsroom@reuters.com +7 3272 508500))
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