Shadow of the Holy Book

The documentary film Shadow of the Holy Book reveals the secretive and repressive dictatorship of Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's head of state from 1985 to 2006, and the Western companies who did business with him.

Niyazov's autobiographical and highly ideological text, the Ruhnama, the cornerstone of the all-pervasive cult of personality he built during his lifetime, was the required text at all education levels and ultimately used to justify widespread human rights violations. In attempts to gain access to the country's natural resources, a number of Western industrial giants had the Ruhnama translated into several languages.

This Open Society Institute screening took place on the two-year anniversary of the start of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's rule. After the screening, the filmmakers and a leading human right activist from Turkmenistan analyzed how much has really changed with the new ruler and the Western economic interests in the country.

Participants

• Arto Halonen, Director, Shadow of the Holy Book
• Kevin Frazier, Co-screenwriter, Shadow of the Holy Book
• Farid Tuhbatullin, former political prisoner and current Director of the independent Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, based in Vienna

Lisa Misol, Senior Researcher in Human Rights Watch's Business and Human Rights Program, moderated the panel. Masha Feiguinova, Program Coordinator for the OSI Turkmenistan Project, introduced the event.