On April 10, Rasul Gulmamedov, a prisoner known in Turkmenistan’s criminal world by the nickname “Bin Laden,” died in the AH-E/3 maximum-security camp located in the Ovadan-Depe area (directly opposite the infamous prison). The man was convicted around the turn of the century after authorities found drugs and an entire arsenal of weapons in his home, as well as an armored personnel carrier hidden under straw in his yard. Afterward, “Bin Laden” repeatedly received additional prison terms while incarcerated and was never released from prison.
Rasul Gulmamedov earned the nickname “Bin Laden” after the internationally known terrorist Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaida. In the mid-1990s, Turkmen law enforcement officers found a large quantity of drugs and an arsenal of weapons in Gulmamedov’s home, including assault rifles and machine guns, as well as an armored personnel carrier hidden in a pit and covered with straw in the yard.
“Bin Laden” allegedly bought the weapons and military equipment or traded them for drugs from Soviet officers withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in 1989 following the end of the war. Some sources, however, say the story about the armored personnel carrier is merely a legend invented by security services to inflate the case.
At the time “Bin Laden” managed to flee and settle in one of the former Soviet republics, but for unknown reasons returned home in 2001. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and never again left custody. He repeatedly received additional prison terms on various charges. In one instance, guards allegedly discovered drugs sewn into a blanket in a package sent by a supposed friend. People who knew “Bin Laden” claim it was a setup. Gulmamedov was held in the Ovadan-Depe prison (AH-T/2 facility) at least three times.
“Bin Laden” was one of the defiant inmates who refused to comply with prison rules and regulations and did not perform official labor. No member of the administration could force him to do anything because he could mobilize several hundred fellow Baloch inmates, to whom he himself belonged, and trigger a violent clash inside the colony. Officials preferred not to interfere with him, allowing him to live in relatively luxurious prison conditions: in a separate room known as keldym with attendants, unlimited visitations and unrestricted food packages.
According to a turkmen.news source in one of the country’s security agencies, Turkmenistan’s “Bin Laden” died just weeks before his 55th birthday. The official cause of death was a heart attack.
