The Department for the Enforcement of Sentences at Turkmenistan’s Interior Ministry has found no grounds to grant early release to Mansur Mingelov — an activist convicted 13 years ago who defended his own rights and the rights of other members of the Baloch minority. Mingelov suffers from a severe form of bone tuberculosis and, under the law, should be deemed unfit for imprisonment. The authorities have acknowledged this, but the Interior Ministry told his relatives in response to their petition that the evidence “does not meet the requirements of Turkmenistan’s current legislation.”
In September, Mingelov’s family appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Interior Ministry, requesting that they begin the process of securing his release. Specifically, they asked that he be put forward for release on the grounds of a serious illness, with the relevant documents sent to a court.
On October 20, the family received a single response to both petitions from the Interior Ministry’s Department for the Enforcement of Sentences — a rejection. According to the letter, officials claimed they had “reviewed all the evidence” and concluded that it “does not meet the requirements of Turkmenistan’s current legislation.”
Meanwhile, in their petition, the family cited Article 76 of the Criminal Code, “Release from Punishment Due to Serious Illness,” and Article 166 of the Criminal Enforcement Code, “Grounds for Release From Serving a Sentence,” as well as Presidential Decree No. 202 of May 11, 2017, which approved a specific list of illnesses and procedures for medical examinations under those articles. In the summer of 2024, a Health Ministry commission confirmed that Mingelov has tuberculous arthritis of the left and right knee joints, noting that this condition is not treated in the country.
Mansur Mingelov is being held in the MR-B/15 prison hospital. His diagnosis was even stated publicly by Turkmenistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vepa Hajyyev. The diplomat also confirmed that national law allows for the release of prisoners with severe illnesses by court decision. A court proceeds only after receiving a joint submission from a supervisory commission and the authority responsible for enforcing sentences.
Mingelov’s family had, in fact, initiated this very process. However, the responsible authorities — despite having in hand the full description of the procedure and a diagnosis already established in accordance with that procedure — for some reason found no grounds for compliance. As far as turkmen.news is aware, no new medical examination or any other review of Mansur’s condition has been carried out recently.
Despite the Interior Ministry’s refusal and the dashed hopes for a pardon, Mansur’s relatives are not giving up. There is a gravely ill man who has already served more than half of his unlawful sentence; there is a law that clearly states that people with such illnesses must be released. All that is missing is a political decision by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. The release of Mansur Mingelov — along with other political prisoners — would only strengthen Turkmenistan’s image and that of its leader on the international stage.
