CAMPAIGN FOR THE RELEASE OF ANDREY ZATOKA

For forty-six days in December 2006/January 2007, Crude Accountability's dear board member, colleague and friend, Andrey Zatoka, was detained without cause in Turkmenistan, a historically repressive country in the midst of political turnover. During those long days, countless organizations and individuals around the world rallied to raise awareness of Andrey's imprisonment and to appeal for his release. On January 31, 2007, he was released in his hometown of Tashauz on a three-year suspended sentence.

We are certain that the outcry around the world made a difference--we heard from numerous sources that the government of Turkmenistan did not expect so much noise about this case. THANK YOU to all who supported Andrey!

To the left of this page, you can find archived materials from the campaign, a testament to the power of working together for justice. And below is an excerpt translated from a thank you letter written by Andrey himself shortly after his release.

Many thanks,
Crude Accountability

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Dear friends!

…I am endlessly grateful to all who fought for or even were simply concerned about me. I supposed that there would be support, but I can honestly say that I did not expect that it would be carried out so efficiently, powerfully and at such a high level. I would like to write personal letters of thanks to all who took part in impacting my fate, but unfortunately, this is physically impossible, therefore simply know that I will be grateful for the rest of my life. It is thanks only to your support that I was given a light sentence and that I left the courtroom not guarded in handcuffs, but, rather, headed home with friends…

…I am not preparing to write a memoir or articles about what happened to me—there are many other more important and urgent matters. The only thing I want to share is my surprise at how many good people there are in the world…

Andrey Zatoka
Free Environmentalist