21.09.2016

The “Prove They Are Alive!” Campaign

Systematic Violations of the Right to Freedom of Movement in Turkmenistan

The Prove They Are Alive! campaign thanks the individuals and organizations who have contributed valuable information to this report, many of them anonymously out of necessity. We could not have compiled the report without their support and assistance.

Roots of the Problem The right to freely leave one’s country and return to one’s country is an essential component of a fundamental human right stipulated in international agreements, the right to freedom of movement. However, this right has never been a legal imperative for the Turkmen authorities. Instead, the absence of constitutional guarantees of this fundamental right and numerous legal gaps in a number of laws has created the grounds for arbitrary and often politically motivated bans on leaving the country and has provided the authorities with an infallible instrument of repression or threat… >> подробнее

19.09.2016

Lauren McMah

A gleaming new international airport has just opened in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, and at first glance, it’s really impressive.

The USD 3.07 billion complex was designed to replicate the shape of a soaring falcon and promises to process up to 1600 passengers every hour. But its official opening on Saturday was overshadowed by a sobering realisation — hardly anyone is ever going to use it. Despite the huge amount of money and effort poured into the airport project, strict visa requirements means only a tiny number of tourists and professionals ever step foot into Turkmenistan, which is regarded as the most mysterious and isolated country in Central Asia. While tourism is officially welcomed in Turkmenistan, tourists… >> подробнее

17.09.2016

Bruce Pannier

It is doubtful Berdymukhammedov essentially invited himself to Germany so he could answer uncomfortable questions about the respect for rights in Turkmenistan. So what was the great need to make a quick trip to Germany?

From independence in late 1991 until December 2006, Turkmenistan was ruled by Saparmurat Niyazov. He preferred to be called «Turkmenbashi,» literally the «head of the Turkmen.» Turkmenistan possesses the fourth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world. The country has made a great amount of money from that. The population is some 5 million people. Most of that money never benefitted them. Instead, Turkmenbashi spent lavishly on new marble buildings in the capital, at Awaza on the Caspian Sea coast, and on monuments to himself, including the infamous 75-meter-high tripod with a gold statute… >> подробнее