Watchdog

Two exiled Turkmen opposition politicians have been refused permission to attend the first stage of a three-part OSCE event, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports.

Nurmuhammet Hanamov, founding chairman of the Republican Party of Turkmenistan in exile, and Annadurdy Hajiyev, a member of the Watan movement and former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, who has obtained political asylum in Bulgaria, say they were kept away from the first part of the review conference to prepare for an OSCE Summit in Astana on December 1-2.

Hanamov told RFE/RL that the refusal was purportedly in line with new OSCE regulations that say NGO representatives may not attend if any OSCE member state objects to their presence.

Hanamov said he was informed that the Turkmen government had identified him as being part of a group of people that seeks to overthrow the existing government structure by force.

The Turkmen authorities reportedly threatened to boycott the Astana Summit if the two men were allowed to participate in the review conference.

Hanamov told RFE/RL that he met with members of the U.S. delegation and asked them to raise his case at the review conference.

"The United States and Canadian delegations have shown solidarity with us and promised to try to resolve the situation," Hanamov said. He added that the delegates said they would walk out of the proceedings if they could not bring about an acceptable solution.

Deputy OSCE spokesperson Frane Marovich told RFE/RL that the accreditation of participants for the Warsaw meeting has already been completed, and the only disputed case is that of Annadurdy Hajiyev. "We have received from one of the participating states a letter stating that an individual (Hajiyev) has been accused of criminal offenses and therefore cannot participate at the conference," Marovich told RFE/RL.

The OSCE has begun consultations with participating states, and Hajiyev's case is under consideration. As for Mr. Hanamov, Marovich said that he never registered for the conference. "He could not gain entry to the conference as he never completed the registration process," Marovich said.

Some 400 NGOs are participating in the review conference, which takes place in three stages over a period of two months in Warsaw, Vienna, and Astana.

Political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi has been sentenced by a Tehran revolutionary court to nine years in jail and 74 lashes, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Tabarzadi, who heads Iran's banned opposition Democratic Front, was arrested by Intelligence Ministry officials in Tehran following bloody protests on the holy day of Ashura on December 28.

The charges against Tabarzadi include "insulting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei" and "assembly and collusion in order to act against national security," former student activist Kourosh Sehati told Radio Farda on October 4.

Sehati, who is based in Washington, said handing down such severe sentences against noted activists behind closed doors and in the absence of lawyers is not unusual in Iran.

"The authorities have no aim but silencing these activists by giving them tough sentences," he said. "But this will only increase the number of dissidents who oppose the Iranian regime."

"Tabarzadi is a spokesman for the Council for Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran," Sehati said. "He is very popular among students and very active in organizing them."

Tabarzadi was initially held in the notorious ward 209 of Tehran's Evin prison, which is thought to be administered by intelligence services. He was later transferred to Rajaeeshahr prison for protesting the execution of five Kurdish activists in May. He had spent several years in jail for his political activities before being detained again in 2009.

Tabarzadi's lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, also is being held in Evin prison. He is accused of "collusion against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic."