Boris Şyhmyradow

Boris Orazowiç Şyhmyradow (born 25 May 1949 ) is a Turkmen politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan from 1995 to 2000. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of participation in a plot against President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2002. Little is known about his life in prison, and it is unknown whether he remains alive.

Biography

Early life and diplomatic career Şyhmyradow was born in Ashgabat to an Armenian mother and Turkmen father. Beginning in 1971, he worked in the Soviet embassies to Pakistan and India. After Turkmenistan gained independence, in 1992 he became Deputy Foreign Minister and then First Deputy Foreign Minister; he also became Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers in the same year. He became Foreign Minister in 1995 and served in that position for five years. He subsequently became a Special Envoy dealing with Caspian Sea affairs and the normalisation of the situation in Afghanistan in June 2000. He served in that post until March 2001, when he became Turkmenistan's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. He remained in the latter position until November 2001, when he announced his opposition to President Niyazov.

Major Begenç Beknazarow, who is a nephew of Şyhmyradow, was also imprisoned in connection with the attempt on Niyazov's life.

Whereabouts Following Niyazov's death in December 2006, his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, was asked about the fates of Şyhmyradow and alleged co-conspirator Batyr Berdiýew at a visit to Columbia University in September 2007. Berdimuhamedow said that he thought they were still alive. He also mentioned the Gadyr Gijesi ("Night of Forgiveness"), an October occasion that is customarily marked by the release of prisoners, leading to speculation that Şyhmyradow might be released. On the occasion, Şyhmyradow's wife and nephew were released on 8 October 2007, but Şyhmyradow himself was not.

Nothing has been heard of Şyhmyradow since 2007; it is thought that he is still imprisoned or that he may have died in prison. According to the other version, Şyhmyradow was secretly executed in the prison located in Türkmenbaşy between April 2003 and November 2005.

In 2014, UN Human Rights Committee found Syhmyradow's rights to life and to fair trial to have been violated.