The EU Presidency released the following declaration:...

The EU Presidency released the following declaration: the EU regrets the violence committed during the reported assassination attempt against President Niyazov on November 25 in Ashgabat and offers its sympathy to the innocent victims. While the EU understands the desire of the Turkmen Government to investigate thoroughly the reported attack and bring those guilty to justice, it is concerned by the manner in which the investigation is being conducted. There are numerous reports of wide scale arrests, including the arrest or detention of entire families of those individuals accused of participating in the reported attack ? The EU urges the Turkmen Government to ignore calls from some domestic quarters for a re-introduction of the death penalty . This would be a serious retrograde step, with negative repercussions on Turkmenistan's international standing.