Turkmenistan: Pregnant Woman Dies After Roads Closed for President’s Visit

A pregnant woman died during President Serdar Berdimuhamedow’s visit to the Lebap province of Turkmenistan after her husband was unable to get her to the hospital due to road closures, Orda.kz reports.

Radio Azatlyk’s, Radio Free Liberty's Turkmen service, obtained the information anonymously from police and medical sources. According to their findings, the woman died on October 15 in Turkmenabat, where Berdimuhamedow was attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a chemical plant.

Authorities reportedly blocked all roads in the city during the visit.

The security forces didn’t even allow ambulances to leave our hospital’s parking lot. Not a single citizen who called an ambulance that day was able to receive medical care,said local hospital workers.

Security personnel allegedly refused to let a man drive his pregnant wife to the hospital. She died in his arms along with their unborn child.

He fell to his knees, begged and cried, but they wouldn’t let him through. They told him, ‘Go to the district hospital through the alleys.’ When they got there, the doctors told him, ‘You’re too late,’ and immediately called the police,  a police source reported.

According to the same source, the man was later "warned" not to speak about the incident and to “look after his son.”

Residents of Turkmenistan have repeatedly complained that roads are shut down for hours during visits by senior officials, Radio Azatlyk reports.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina