Turkmenistan

Majority are murdered; worldwide death toll rises

New York, September 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the death in prison of a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Turkmenistan. CPJ called for an inquiry into the death of Ogulsapar Muradova of RFE/RL’s Turkmen service whose body was released to her family today.

New York, August 25, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the six-year prison sentence handed down today to a radio reporter in Turkmenistan after a closed-door trial that lasted only a few minutes.

Ogulsapar Muradova, a correspondent in the capital Ashgabat for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was tried without legal representation and convicted of “illegal possession of bullets and ammunition” under Article 287 of the criminal code.

New York, August 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the fate of Ogulsapar Muradova, Ashgabat correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), who has been in a Turkmen prison for almost two months. Officers from the Ashgabat Interior Ministry arrested Muradova on June 18 and have been holding her without charge and access to legal counsel. Muradova’s colleagues and human rights activists fear she could be tortured and drugged in prison, methods that Turkmen authorities have used to coerce other detainees, sources told CPJ.

New York, June 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrests of Ogulsapar Muradova, an Ashgabat-based correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and her three children. Muradova, arrested on Sunday, is being held without charge at Ashgabat Interior Ministry (MVR) headquarters. Her three adult children—Maral, Berdy and Sona—were taken into custody on Monday, also without charge.

No arrest warrants were produced, and Turkmen officials did not explain the reasons for the detentions, according to press reports and CPJ interviews. Colleagues and human rights defenders told CPJ the detentions are part of a broader and ongoing crackdown on independent journalists, human rights activists, and their relatives.

Charting the planet's 10 deepest information voids on World Press Freedom Day.

CPJ Update May 22, 2006 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

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See updated list of 10 Most Censored Countries at http://cpj.org/reports/2012/05/10-most-censored-countries.php.

North Korea tops CPJ's list of "10 Most Censored Countries"

New York, March 30, 2006—The Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has lost contact with correspondents Meter Khommadov and Dzhumadurdy Ovezov for a second time this month, the broadcaster said today. Khommadov gave an interview to the service on March 23, describing the conditions of his and Ovezov’s March 7 arrest and 10-day prison stay. The next day, RFE/RL lost contact with both correspondents, Rozynazar Khoudaiberdiev of the RFE/RL Turkmen service in Prague told CPJ in a telephone interview.

New York, March 20, 2006—Authorities have released two journalists working for the Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after arresting them on spurious charges of hooliganism, according to international press reports. RFE/RL officials in Prague issued a statement saying that the two journalists—Meret Khommadov and Dzhumadurdy Ovezov—were freed on Thursday only after signing documents agreeing not to work for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster.