A/HRC/4/21/Add.1 page 72 Witnesses (which is not registered under the established procedure), it has been confirmed from the available information that they were living without any identity papers. Consequently, efforts were made pursuant to the law to determine their identities. These persons were not arrested and certainly not subjected to violence. 304. In relation to J. Karimova’s case, the Government maintains the information of the communication is contrary to the actual circumstances. Also, official meetings were held with diplomatic representatives, during which exhaustive replies were given. Accordingly, the Government regrets the use made of unreliable sources. 305. The Government also wants to point out that in Turkmenistan there has not been a single instance of an arrest or conviction for political, religious or other reasons. Furthermore, with the political stability existing in society all the conditions have been created to ensure the livelihood and development of representatives of all nationalities and peoples residing in the country. These opportunities are guaranteed by the law, under which any violation of the rights of citizens incurs the sanctions prescribed by law. 306. To conclude, the Government emphasizes that Turkmenistan is demonstrating in practice its readiness to conduct a dialogue with international organizations, and especially the United Nations, in a spirit of constructiveness and commitment to the achievement of common goals defined in the name of peace and prosperity for the peoples forming the basis of our cooperation within the community of nations. Observations 307. The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the Government’s detailed response and she would like to refer to her observations concerning the communication dated 2 December 2005. The Special Rapporteur hopes to receive a reply from the Government further to her letter sent in 2003 asking for an invitation to visit Turkmenistan to assess the situation of freedom of religion or belief. United States of America Communication sent on 30 June 2005 308. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had received concerning the situation of Mr. Wazir Ahmed, Mr. Zahid Ahmed, Mr. Hashmat Ali, Mr. Abdul Majeed, Shamsulhaq, Mr. Muhammad Aslam and Mr. Muhammad Abid, former detainees of the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They were among a group of fortyfive men originally arrested four years ago in Afghanistan. According to the information received, while they were in custody in Guantanamo Bay, the aforementioned were victims of illtreatment, such as sexual harassment during prayers as well as humiliation through desecration of the Holy Koran, which was deliberately designed to hurt their religious beliefs. Response from the Government dated 24 March 2006 309. The Government stated that the Department of Defense (DoD) has carefully looked into the matter of Koran mishandling at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The DoD investigation, completed in June 2005, found five instances of apparent mishandling by