Turkmen president to pardon 10,000 prisoners

President Saparmurat Niyazov announced Tuesday that he will pardon and release from jail about 10,000 prisoners convicted of minor crimes to mark the 15th anniversary of the ex-Soviet republic's independence that will be celebrated in October.

Photo: Turkmen president to pardon 10,000 prisoners

"Some of them end up in jail through deceit, some by accident ... These are our people. I won't lock them up, fill up prisons with them, or infringe on their rights," Niyazov said during a televised visit to cotton farms in the country's west.

The pardoned prisoners will be required to take an oath on the Quran and on the Niyazov-authored "Rukhnama," which is required reading in Turkmenistan, pledging they will never commit crimes again.

Niyazov has drawn strong international criticism for human rights abuses, but he has granted amnesty to more than 120,000 prisoners in the past 13 years.

Niyazov has led natural gas-rich Central Asian nation of 6 million people since 1985, when it was part of the Soviet Union. He has created a vast personality cult, resisting democratic and economic reforms and cracking down on dissent, reports the AP.

I.L.