Turkmen leader pardons 2,000 prisoners
ASHGABAT – Turkmenistan's state newspaper says the president has pardoned around 2,000 convicts to mark Neutrality Day, but no political prisoners appear to be among those set for release, AP reported.
Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper said Friday those benefiting from the amnesty have now repented for their crimes.
Turkmen authorities have routinely denied international organizations access to the country's prisons, but rights groups believe jails are severely overcrowded and that abuse is rife. Turkmenistan's exact prison population is unknown.
President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov has approved numerous pardons since coming to power in late 2006. However, critics say those gestures are undermined by the authoritarian former Soviet nation's overly punitive justice system.
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