Turkmenistan sets five-to-twelve-year prison terms for drug supply

Turkmenistan’s replacement criminal code took effect on 1 January 2023 with five to twelve years in prison for unauthorised drug supply and possession with intent to supply. The ordinary offence of possession without supply intent allowed a fine or up to five years in prison.^[1]

Suppliers faced escalating prison terms

President Serdar Berdimuhamedow signed the new edition in April 2022 for commencement the following January. Its drug chapter separated supply offences from possession without supply intent and from growing prohibited plants.^[1]

The ordinary supply range rose to eight to twenty years where the offence was repeated, committed by a group acting together or involved a large quantity. The highest tier carried fifteen to twenty-five years, including organised-group and especially large-quantity cases. Property confiscation and additional residence restrictions could accompany these penalties.^[1]

For someone facing a supply allegation, the quantity and circumstances could therefore make a large difference to the prison range.^[1]

Personal possession had a separate offence

The ordinary criminal offence covering possession without intent to supply permitted a fine of forty to one hundred base units or up to five years in prison. Repeated or group offending carried three to ten years.^[1]

The code provided an exemption for someone who voluntarily surrendered drugs and actively helped expose or prevent drug offences, identify offenders or locate proceeds. Both surrender and cooperation were part of that criminal exemption.^[1]

Alongside it, the administrative code covered acquiring or holding a minor quantity without supply intent, and use. That rule allowed a fine of one to three base units and confiscation, or up to fifteen days’ administrative detention. Separate regulations determined the quantities.^[2]

Cannabis growing was expressly named

Sowing or growing cannabis fell within the cultivation offence. Its ordinary penalty allowed up to two years’ corrective labour, a punishment involving work, or two to five years in prison, with possible residence restrictions. Repeated, group or large-scale growing carried five to ten years.^[1]

The drug law in force since 2018 reserved controlled cultivation to permitted enterprises and institutions within state quotas. It also prohibited drug consumption without a doctor’s order.^[3]

Imprisonment followed the end of capital punishment

Turkmenistan had introduced a death-penalty moratorium in January 1999 and abolished the punishment that December. The later code operated within that system of prison terms and other penalties.^[4][1]

The Turkmenistan profile sets out the separate consequences for holding, using, growing and supplying cannabis, including the administrative small-amount rule.