Translated material
Turkmen therapy
Much more important is the decision taken yesterday by the new Turkmen leader to amend the tax code. Now healthcare institutions are exempt from property tax, and medical services, as well as the sale of medicines and medical equipment, are exempt from VAT. This means that imported medicines, including Russian ones, will again be available to citizens of Turkmenistan.
Yesterday it became known that the former speaker of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan Ovezgeldy Atayev was sentenced by the Supreme Court to five years in prison on charges of “driving to suicide” his son’s fiancée based on “tribal enmity.” According to Vremya Novostei, the trial was closed and took place before the presidential elections on February 11.
The arrest of Mr. Atayev became known on December 21, 2006, simultaneously with the news of the sudden death of the lifelong President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov. According to the Turkmen constitution, it was the speaker who was supposed to take the place of the head of state in the event of his death. Atayev’s case has raised doubts among a number of international observers about the legitimacy of the transfer of power in Ashgabat.