Teh One Who Knocks
11-29-2011, 02:37 PM
By Simon Tomlinson - The Daily Mail
http://i.imgur.com/HzzkE.jpg
Given his dictator's absurd hatred of household pets, it may have been prudent to be slightly more wary.
But one resident in Turkmenistan could surely be forgiven for not foreseeing the response when he inadvertently strayed into a restricted area while walking his dog.
The man had been strolling along the streets of the capital, Ashgabat, when he was surrounded by police, shoved to the floor and whisked away to the custody suite, along with his pet.
He was informed that he had encroached an area which had been closed off while the cortege of the country's president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov passed through a nearby boulevard.
Officers then told him that an order had come from the top - either the police could shoot the dog or he would have to go to jail for two weeks.
To save his pet, the man opted for prison. He was allowed one phone call and used it to ask his relatives to pick up the dog.
In the end, he served just seven days of his sentence – thanks to appeals from his family.
He was released with a notice that he had been detained for 'disturbing the peace'.
http://i.imgur.com/SwyJY.jpg
Dictatorship: Mr Berdymukhamedov's presidential palace dominates the skyline of
the capital Ashgabat, where the dog-walker was pounced on by police for straying
into a restricted area
The story, recounted on an independent website run by Turkmen émigrés, is hard to verify as there are no free media in the country, it was reported in The Independent.
But the incident doesn't seem at all far-fetched considering President Berdymukhamedov's severe dislike of pets.
Last year, a diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks recounted how the president was so angry when a cat ran in front of his motorcade he fired a top military official.
The Turkmen press has also reported an extermination drive to remove stray dogs and cats from the capital on his orders.
http://i.imgur.com/HzzkE.jpg
Given his dictator's absurd hatred of household pets, it may have been prudent to be slightly more wary.
But one resident in Turkmenistan could surely be forgiven for not foreseeing the response when he inadvertently strayed into a restricted area while walking his dog.
The man had been strolling along the streets of the capital, Ashgabat, when he was surrounded by police, shoved to the floor and whisked away to the custody suite, along with his pet.
He was informed that he had encroached an area which had been closed off while the cortege of the country's president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov passed through a nearby boulevard.
Officers then told him that an order had come from the top - either the police could shoot the dog or he would have to go to jail for two weeks.
To save his pet, the man opted for prison. He was allowed one phone call and used it to ask his relatives to pick up the dog.
In the end, he served just seven days of his sentence – thanks to appeals from his family.
He was released with a notice that he had been detained for 'disturbing the peace'.
http://i.imgur.com/SwyJY.jpg
Dictatorship: Mr Berdymukhamedov's presidential palace dominates the skyline of
the capital Ashgabat, where the dog-walker was pounced on by police for straying
into a restricted area
The story, recounted on an independent website run by Turkmen émigrés, is hard to verify as there are no free media in the country, it was reported in The Independent.
But the incident doesn't seem at all far-fetched considering President Berdymukhamedov's severe dislike of pets.
Last year, a diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks recounted how the president was so angry when a cat ran in front of his motorcade he fired a top military official.
The Turkmen press has also reported an extermination drive to remove stray dogs and cats from the capital on his orders.