Turkmen Citizens Grow Litigious

Law firms offering advice to the public are fast becoming a growth industry in Turkmenistan, despite the numerous restrictions on civil rights in this tightly-controlled Central Asian state.

About a year after Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov came to power in 1997, he began calling for legal advice centres to open. The numbers are still small for a nation of five million – about four centres in the capital Ashgabat and another six in urban areas around the country. Legal advice units also operate within state institutions and some other kinds of organisations, although not all are empowered to represent clients in court.

In a November 2 speech, Berdymuhammedov stressed the need for greater access to legal aid.

Analysts say demand for such services has proved so high that the president is right to call for an expansion in provision.

One local observer who visited two legal advice centres said they were packed with people seeking help, suggesting a new-found faith in the law as a solution to certain kinds of dispute.

A lawyer in Ashgabat confirmed this, saying, "Increasing numbers of people are seeking legal advice on the [state-ordered] demolition of residential buildings and the incorrect registration of property titles."

A pensioner who recently sought advice said it was a positive experience.

"It’s important to have access [to legal help] when there’s so much injustice around us," she said. "They wanted to take my land plot away, so I went to a lawyer and he told me what to do about it and who to write to. I managed to get my land back."

A staff member of Turkmenistan’s Red Crescent Society gave an example of how lawyers helped a young man in a case of unfair dismissal. He won six court battles in a row because he had the right advice, and was reinstated.

“This access [to services] is very important to people here, given the universal ignorance of the law,” she said.

A resident of the western port city of Turkmenbashi said people there often succeeded with complaints about wages, housing and utilities if they were armed with the right knowledge.

"People hear that someone else has won a court case or has been able to press legal demands after receiving competent advice, so they follow their example," she said.

Resorting to the law has its limits, however, and there are certain issues that remain strictly off-limits.

"If someone tries to raise a complaint about the restrictions on access to information, for example, or about being deprived of the right to education, they will quickly end up in jail,” a non-government activist in Ashgabat said, recalling the case of one man who sought legal advice about a government drive to track down residents of Abadan who used the internet to spread news of a devastating explosion in July. The lawyer made it plain to him that continuing to seek justice would end badly for him.

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

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