On October 4, 2016, human rights activist Gaspar Matalaev was arrested in Turkmenistan, Central Asia. He has reportedly been subjected to torture by electric current to force him to confess to false charges of minor fraud. Repeated promises of his release have been broken.1
Gaspar is a prominent human rights activist in the country, where he has been monitoring the state-orchestrated forced labor system in the Turkmenistan cotton fields. His work has helped draw attention to the Turkmen Government’s annual mobilization of tens of thousands of citizens forced to pick cotton under threat of punishment.
Gaspar’s arrest came two days after he published a report on the extensive use of forced labor and child labor in the 2016 cotton harvest and one day after the Minister of National Security was severely reprimanded by the Turkmen President at a State Security Council meeting for not properly repressing activism in the country.2 It is clear Gaspar’s arrest was politically motivated.
This is not the first time the Turkmenistan Government has prosecuted human rights activists on politically motivated charges. This year, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on the Turkmen Government to end the harassment, torture and detention of those “seeking to document forced labour in the cotton harvest such as Gaspar Matalaev”.3 It is now up to the international community to speak out and demand action on behalf of the courageous monitors like Gaspar who put themselves at risk to help others.
Please sign our petition to demand the Turkmen Government immediately release Gaspar and allow him to continue his work in safety.
Photo courtesy of Alternative Turkmenistan News: https://habartm.org/archives/5844
Notes:
Campaign updates
10 May: In collaboration with our partners, the Cotton Campaign, we sent a letter to the Turkmen President requesting Gaspar’s immediate release from detention. Read the letter here.
27 June 2017: The publication of the annual Trafficking In Person (TIP) report by the US State Department highlighted the mistreatment of Gaspar by the Turkmen authorities. The TIP report is an influential assessment of governments based on their efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking, and it’s inclusion of Gaspar’s case is an important step in drawing the attention of the international community to the injustice of his case. See more here.
Malcolm M.
miquel jaume l.
ERASMO F.
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818 Comments on "Free Gaspar Matalaev"
Allah bless you Gaspar.
My heart is on your side. Take care Gaspar !
Only barbaric, corrupt, facsist regimes torture people who work for purposes that are unselfish. The thugs with the standing army cannot allow any good deed to go unpunished. Do not buy anything cotton if you don’t know where it comes from. This is the only way to support Gaspar and other honest people living in Orwellian Stans.
This support of slavery in modern countries is almost unbelievable, Gaspar Matalaev should be released
Stay strong, I hope everything goes well!
Gaspar, stay strong. Thank you
Gaspar, our compliments to you for your courage to speak up against slavery and forced labour. May God bless you.
Thanks for going against the wind and for your courage to stand up against forced labour. May God bless you.
Dear Gaspard,
Thank you for having the courage to speak up for those victims who could not defend themselves. You and your family are in my prayers and I won’t forget you, nor the great personal sacrifices you have endured.
May God bless you and be at your side. You are in my prayers Gaspar. Stay strong brother. You are loved by many.