ASHKHABAD, December 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The jailed political foe of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov was shown on state television Sunday, December 29, with his face puffed and saying in slurred speech that he plotted to kill the republic’s leader while under the influence of drugs.

Boris Shikhmuradov, the former deputy prime minister of this isolated but energy-rich Central Asian country which Niyazov rules with an iron fist, was arrested following the alleged November 25 assault on the Turkmen leader, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Niyazov escaped unhurt, but has since launched a fierce police crackdown against his few political opponents, whom he accuses of plotting the assassination attempt.

His opponents have denied the charges, and analysts in Moscow suggest Niyazov may have staged the attack himself in order to come up with an excuse to arrest his political enemies.

His face puffy, his head wobbling and speaking with difficulty, Shikhmuradov was shown against a blank backdrop on state television while admitting to alleged drug use, alcoholism and plotting terrorist acts.

“While living in Russia, we used drugs and, while under the influence of alcohol, recruited agents who could stage the terrorist attack,” said Shikhmuradov in reference to the gun attack on Niyazov’s car.

Shikhmuradov, along with other foes of Niyazov - who has achieved cult status in Turkmenistan but refuses regular contacts with the outside world - has lived in exile along with other more liberal politicians for the past two years.

“Our goal was to destabilize the situation in Turkmenistan,” Shikhmuradov added, speaking so slowly that he appeared to have either suffered a concussion or been drugged.

The prosecutor’s office said it views Shikhmuradov as the main organizer of the alleged assassination attempt, AFP said.

He has been charged with plotting to overthrow the government and with the attempted assassination of the head of state.

The death penalty has been banned in the former Soviet republic, although pro-government officials have suggested the rules can be revised in this case.

Shikhmuradov, in a statement posted last week on the Turkmen opposition’s official Gundogar Internet site, said he had turned himself in to end the mass arrests which follow the incident.

He admits to trying to organize mass demonstrations against Niyazov’s rule, but no more.

Three former political figures, including the ex-speaker of parliament Tagan Khaliev, former foreign minister Batur Berdeyev and the one-time national television chief Serdar Rasimov are already in custody as part of investigations into the attempt on the president’s life.

Turkmen authorities say they have so far arrested some 50 people, including 17 foreigners.

Niyazov has ruled Turkmenistan for 17 years. He declared himself president in 1999, and established a cult of personality around himself.