This update covers developments relating to the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Turkmenistan from the beginning of June to the beginning of November 2024. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) have prepared it as part of their cooperation with the CIVICUS Monitor.
Internet access in Turkmenistan remained severely restricted, both in speed and content. Despite government claims of advancing digitalisation, Turkmenistan ranked near the bottom globally in broadband speed, and access to foreign news, social media and other online resources remained blocked.
In response to widespread use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) by citizens trying to bypass internet restrictions, authorities have banned VPNs and intimidate those who use them to access blocked sites. For example, in July 2024, security services in Balkan Region detained and fined residents for engaging with social media content from foreign-based news sites and opposition groups. Those targeted were warned of more severe consequences if they continued liking, commenting on, or otherwise interacting with posts that criticise the Turkmenistani government or condemn Russia's war against Ukraine. A recent global study listed Turkmenistan as one of the top countries for VPN unavailability, alongside China, Iran and Russia.
While authorities continued to promote an image of Turkmenistan as a country of affluence and well-being, the prolonged economic crisis severely impacted ordinary citizens, resulting in financial hardship and widespread food insecurity. State employees were reportedly forced to work extended hours without being paid on time. For example, in July 2024, workers in Ashgabat’s municipal services went two months without wages, leaving their families without critical income. However, employees feared speaking out due to job insecurity and the risks associated with criticising the government.
Such fears were reinforced by repressive measures targeting those voicing grievances. For example, In September 2024, cotton farmers in Lebap Region were threatened with criminal charges after refusing to hand over their harvest to a state-run factory, protesting what they saw as unfair price deductions, leading to a substantial decrease in their meagre earnings.
Meanwhile, in Mary Region, the number of families unable to afford adequate food reportedly grew, with some families going days without meals and relying on weddings and other gatherings to access food. At the same time, residents from the region who posted online requests for assistance due to financial hardship were interrogated and pressured to delete their appeals because they allegedly dishonoured the country and its leadership. These actions highlight the authorities’ efforts to control online expression and stifle criticism of the socio-economic crisis affecting citizens.
The heavy toll of the authorities' crackdown on dissent was highlighted by the cases of two journalists. Journalist Nurgeldy Khalykov was finally released in June 2024 after serving four years in prison on spurious fraud charges, initiated after authorities found out that he had shared a photo with an exile-based outlet. In another case, Khudaiberdy Allashov, a former correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), tragically passed away in August 2024 after years of persecution.
In a pattern of transnational repression, Turkmenistani authorities also target government critics based abroad, with several activists-bloggers having been forcibly returned from Turkey to Turkmenistan since 2023. In summer 2024, another such case was reported: blogger Merdan Mukhamedov was deported from Turkey in June, and thereafter prosecuted on serious extremist related charges believed to have been brought in retaliation for his online criticism of the government. Well-known Turkey-based activist Dursoltan Taganova also faced renewed threats of deportation, narrowly avoiding return to Turkmenistan in October 2024 after interventions by her lawyer. Mukhamedov, Taganova and other outspoken activists living in Turkey have been declared wanted by Turkmenistani authorities, with their photos prominently displayed at police stations in Turkmenistan.
In a further development, in July 2024, the Turkmenistani government officially requested Turkey, Russia and several other countries to deny entry to some 50 critics based abroad, claiming they threaten national security. Acting on such requests, Turkish authorities denied entry to the editor of the Netherlands-based Turkmen News, Ruslan Myatiev, in July 2024. This incident followed the earlier deportation from Turkey of another exile-based human rights advocate - Tajigul Begmedova, the head of the Bulgaria-based Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (THF).
As documented in a report published by the THF and Human Rights Watch in November 2024, Turkmenistani authorities’ refusal to renew passports for citizens abroad, including in Turkey, exacerbates the problem of transnational repression. When activists critical of the government are unable to renew their passports and become undocumented, they face heightened vulnerability to deportation to Turkmenistan, where they risk arbitrary detention, imprisonment and torture.
Meanwile, independent journalist Soltan Achilova, who works with TIHR, faced renewed harassment because of her courageous work reporting on developments in Turkmenistan. Just days before her 75th birthday on 1st October 2024, unknown individuals smashed the rear-view mirror on her disabled son’s car. Achilova believes this was a new attempt by security services to intimidate her.
Authorities continued to forcibly mobilise public sector employees and students for state-organised celebrations. These events were time-consuming for the participants and jeopardised their well-being, especially when held in extreme weather conditions. For example, ahead of Independence Day in September 2024, thousands of people were mobilised for intense daily marching rehearsals in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, resulting in multiple cases of heat stroke. Participants were instructed to chant slogans in support of President Serdar Berdymukhamedov while appearing ‘’joyful’’.
Expression
Restrictions on internet access and intimidation of internet users
Internet access in Turkmenistan remains limited and slow by global standards, despite the government's stated commitment to digitalisation and efforts to attract foreign investment for this purpose. Turkmenistan consistently ranks at the bottom of Speedtest Global’s monthly ratings for fixed broadband speed worldwide. For example, in September 2024 - the latest available data at the time of writing - Turkmenistan ranked 158 out of 159 countries, with an average download speed of just 3.42 Mbps, compared to the global average of 94.16 Mbps. Only Cuba had a slower speed, at 2.77 Mbps.
Internet in Turkmenistan also remains heavily censored, with many news, social media and other online resources arbitrarily blocked. Access to these resources is only possible through VPNs. However, authorities also block access to VPNs and intimidate those who install and use them. Turkmenistan is one of the few countries in the world to have banned VPNs, making it very difficult for citizens to bypass censorship and access unrestricted information online. A recent study of the availability of VPN apps in different countries, conducted by comparing the offer on Apple’s App and Google’s Play stores, found that Turkmenistan and Russia have the lowest instances of VPN availability worldwide, after China and Iran.
This is an example of intimidation of VPN users from the reporting period:
- In July 2024, Radio Azatlyk—the Turkmen service of RFE/RL —reported that security services in Balkan Region detained, interrogated and penalised several dozen residents for engaging with social media content from foreign-based independent news sites and opposition groups. Residents were detained for up to four hours, fined, and warned of more severe consequences if they continued to interact with posts that criticise the Turkmenistani government or condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine. Their phones were also confiscated. According to Radio Azatlyk's sources, individuals who posted critical comments themselves faced particularly harsh treatment, including alleged physical abuse by security services.
Authorities have also restricted freedom of expression on the internet by targeting individuals who use social media to seek help covering the costs of food, medicine and other basic needs that they cannot afford. Such posts are seen as undesirable by officials, as they highlight the severe impact of the ongoing socio-economic crisis and contradict the official narrative of prosperity and well-being.
- In October 2024, Radio Azatlyk reported that law enforcement and security service officers in the Mary Region summoned individuals who posted social media appeals for assistance, subjecting them to interrogation and intimidation. Officials demanded that they delete their requests for help, claiming that such posts dishonoured the country and its leaders.
Association
One journalist dies after years of persecution, another one released after four years in prison
Turkmenistani authorities continue their crackdown on dissent. The severe risks faced by activists and journalists in Turkmenistan are illustrated by the tragic case of Khudaiberdy Allashov, a former RFE/RL correspondent who passed away in August 2024 after years of persecution took a heavy toll on his health. In 2016, Allashov and his mother were charged with possessing chewing tobacco – a banned substance in Turkmenistan, subjected to ill-treatment and held in detention for two months before finally being released with suspended prison sentences. After his release, Allashov remained under constant pressure, with both he and his family repeatedly detained, abused and harassed by law enforcement authorities.
In June 2024, journalist Nurgeldy Khalykov was finally released after serving a four-year prison sentence. Khalykov was arrested and convicted on fraud charges in 2020, allegedly based on a complaint that he had failed to repay a private debt. These charges were initiated after he shared a photo of a WHO mission visiting Turkmenistan with an exile-based outlet and authorities found out about his cooperation with this group. The photo showed WHO mission members sitting outside an Ashgabat hotel and had been posted by a social media friend of Khalykov. Both human rights organisations and international experts had repeatedly called for Khalykov’s release.
Transnational repression
Transnational repression remains of serious concern. After migrant communities in Turkey held several peaceful protests against Turkmenistani government policies in 2020-2021, Turkmenistani authorities stepped up efforts to target outspoken activists and bloggers living in this country, including by initiating criminal charges against them and seeking their forcible return to Turkmenistan. While no returns were executed during the COVID pandemic, several activists- bloggers, have been sent back from Turkey to Turkmenistan since 2023, exposing them to severe risks of torture and politically motivated imprisonment. A new case was documented during the reporting period:
- According to the THF, blogger Merdan Mukhamedov was deported from Turkey to Turkmenistan in June 2024 after his application for an extension of his Turkish residence permit was denied. Prior to this, he had lived for more than 10 years in Turkey. In Turkmenistan, he was reportedly charged with attempting to seize power and engaging in extremist activities – offences punishable with imprisonment of up to 15 years. These serious charges are believed to be retaliation for his engagement in a YouTube channel, where he had openly criticised the Turkmenistani government.
View on Threads
Well-known Turkey-based activist and blogger Dursoltan Taganova also faced renewed threats of forcible return during the reporting period:
- Late in the evening on 6th October 2024, Turkish police officers arrived at Taganova’s Istanbul apartment, informing her she had allegedly been declared a national security threat and would be deported. She was taken to a local migration centre and held for a few hours before being released, thanks to intervention from her lawyer, who demonstrated the lack of grounds for her detention or deportation. Taganova has international protection status in Turkey, granting her the legal right to reside there. The migration service found no record of violations by her or any indication of the code assigned to individuals designated as national security threats. According to Taganova, a trusted source had warned her shortly before her detention that Turkmenistani security services had requested her return. Despite her release, she remains at serious risk. This is not her first encounter with Turkish authorities on behalf of Turkmenistan: she was detained and threatened with deportation twice before, but each time was eventually released after interventions from her lawyers and human rights defenders. Additionally, she has faced ongoing intimidation and harassment due to her civic engagement and government criticism, and her family members in Turkmenistan have been subjected to pressure.
Mukhamedov’s and Taganova’s cases fit into a pattern in which Turkmenistani authorities label government critics based abroad as national security threats and seek their return. According to TIHR’s information, special stands in police stations in Turkmenistan, displaying information about individuals wanted for different crimes, feature photographs and personal data about Mukhamedov, Taganova and other activists-bloggers living in Turkey. In a further development, TIHR’s sources reported that, in mid-July 2024, the Turkmenistani government requested Turkey, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and several other countries to deny entry to some 50 civil society activists, journalists and opposition supporters based abroad, claiming they pose national security threats. The government also requested the return of some of these individuals to Turkmenistan.
Later the same month, the following incident took place:
- On 25th July 2024, Turkish authorities denied entry to Ruslan Myatiev, editor of the independent Netherlands-based Turkmen News and a Dutch citizen, when he arrived in Antalya for a family vacation. Turkish police informed him that he had been banned from entering Turkey since autumn 2023. Based on police conversations, he learned that he had been declared a threat to national security in Turkey at the request of Turkmenistani security services. After several hours of questioning about his work and activities, Myatiev was put on a plane back to the Netherlands.
This followed a similar incident in November 2023, when Tajigul Begmedova, head of the Bulgaria-based THF, was denied entry at Istanbul airport and deported to Bulgaria. Turkish authorities informed her that she had been banned entry to Turkey for five years for allegedly threatening national security. This step was also believed to have been taken at the request of Turkmenistani authorities in retaliation for her work promoting human rights in Turkmenistan and among Turkmenistani migrants in Turkey.
A joint report, published by the THF and Human Rights Watch in early November 2024, highlighted another form of transnational repression: the refusal of Turkmenistani authorities to renew passports of citizens abroad, with the apparent intention of pressuring them to return to Turkmenistan. The report documents how this practice impacts Turkmenistani migrants in Turkey, exposing them to hardships by leaving them undocumented. Those who have criticised the government are particularly vulnerable to deportation to Turkmenistan, where they risk arbitrary detention, imprisonment and torture.
New reported incident of harassment of elderly journalist
Independent journalist Soltan Achilova, who currently cooperates with TIHR, has repeatedly faced intimidation and harassment due to her work. In one incident in November 2023, airport officials deliberately damaged her and her daughter’s passports, preventing them from travelling to Geneva, where the journalist was scheduled to speak about her work at the invitation of the Martin Ennals Foundation. The visit was organised in follow-up to Achilova’s selection as a finalist for the Foundation’s prestigious human rights award in 2021.
During the reporting period, a new incident was reported, which Achilova believes was orchestrated by security services to intimidate her:
- On 27th September 2024, the rear-view mirror on the car of Achilova’s disabled son was smashed by unknown individuals, while none of the other four cars in the same parking lot was damaged. Despite surveillance cameras near the parking lot, police were unable to identify the perpetrators. According to TIHR’s information, police also required Achilova’s son to pay 300 Som (around 80 EUR) for the cost of assessing the damage to his car before proceeding with the investigation. However, he refused to do so, considering it a waste of money. His car had also been targeted before; six years ago, unknown attackers broke its windows, but no one was identified despite video evidence. The latest incident took place just days before Achilova’s 75th birthday on 1st October 2024.
Assembly
Expressions of discontent met with threats
As a rule, no organised protests take place in Turkmenistan because of the repressive climate and the risk of persecution facing anyone who criticises those in power. At the same time, citizens face intimidation for spontaneous attempts to raise legitimate grievances. These are examples from the reporting period which TIHR’s sources have reported from Sakar district in Lebap Region:
- In September 2024, tenant cotton farmers in Sakar were intimidated after refusing to hand over their harvest to the city’s state-run cotton processing factory. The farmers objected to what they saw as unjustified payment deductions imposed by the factory director, who cited the cotton’s allegedly inferior quality. These deductions led to a substantial decrease in the farmers’ earnings from the harvest, which was part of a state-managed programme. In response, the director called in the police and security services. Upon arrival, these authorities accused the farmers of “sabotaging” state policy and threatened them with criminal prosecution. Despite these threats, several dozen farmers ultimately returned home with their cotton. However, a few days later, after additional confrontations with local police and the agricultural association managing the rented land, they brought the cotton back to the factory and handed it over.
- Local residents have also faced threats by local officials when complaining about the deterioration in access to public services after Sakar’s status as an etrap (a local administrative unit) was abolished and it was merged with Sayat etrap. To obtain basic services, residents must now travel 30-40 kilometres to Sayat, incurring high costs without reliable public transport options. In addition, residents have experienced long delays in the provision of services. In one instance, a resident who protested at the delay in the issuance of his daughter’s passport was threatened with police involvement by the deputy hakim (mayor).
Mass mobilisation for state celebrations
Authorities continue to forcibly mass mobilise public sector employees, students and others for state-organised celebrations, in violation of the right to participate in assemblies voluntarily. These events, and lengthy rehearsals preceding them, expose participants to serious health risks due to the intense schedules and harsh weather conditions, as illustrated by the following examples from the reporting period:
- On 8th July 2024, university students were forcibly mobilised as spectators for a cultural event held in Ashgabat Park in the capital, without receiving any clear explanation of the event’s purpose. While the four-hour celebration began at 10 a.m., some students were seated as early as 6 a.m., while others had to stand near the stage for the duration of the event. From 8 a.m., students were prohibited from going to the restroom. Food was also banned, with only small bottles of water allowed, which quickly warmed up as temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. About 10 students started feeling unwell, and some of them fainted. Cold water was only provided to those who collapsed.
- As of late July 2024, thousands of public sector employees and students were mobilised for rehearsals in preparation for Independence Day celebrations on 27th September. They were made to participate in daily marching rehearsals at Ashgabat’s Dagdan Stadium, which lasted for several hours despite the extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. This resulted in multiple cases of heat stroke among participants. Students were required to interrupt their summer break for the rehearsals, and to purchase balloons and national flags at their own expense. In addition, they were instructed to chant slogans in support of President Berdymukhamedov while appearing ‘’joyful’’ as they marched past the podium. In the lead-up to Independence Day, public sector employees, students and high school pupils were also reportedly assigned to assist public utility workers in cleaning and beautifying the capital.