Turkmenistan: Former Presidential Chief of Staff Dies in Prison

A former chief of staff of deceased president Saparmurat Niyazov has died in prison. Rejep Saparov, 62, reportedly died of "exhaustion" in late October in the Ovadan Depe high security prison.

Saparov was one of Niyazov's chief lieutenants until July 2005, when the mercurial dictator carried out a far-reaching purge. Saparov was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of corruption and links with foreign security services. Niyazov died in late 2006.

The current Turkmen president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, is reluctant to give "Turkmenbashi's prisoners" pardons, as they are still viewed as "enemies of the state," the opposition news website Chrono-tm.org reported on November 3.