Week In Review: Reported Developments in Ongoing Cases Involving Turkmen Citizens

Orda.kz has put together a brief synopsis of the past two weeks' news. This edition focuses on recent developments in Turkmenistan.

Announcement Made

On July 29, 2025, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, called for the immediate and unconditional release of Turkmen civil activist Murat Dushemov.

Reportedly, Dushemov had been transferred on June 10 from the penal colony in Seydi, where he was serving a sentence set to expire on June 14, to the Abdy-Shukur pretrial detention center in Turkmenabad.

Authorities have purportedly opened a new criminal case against him, allegedly involving an altercation in which Dushemov supposedly broke another inmate’s arm. Human Rights Watch expressed serious concern that these charges are fabricated.

Dushemov had originally been convicted in 2021 following what the organization described as politically motivated charges related to his peaceful criticism of the government.

He had posted videos questioning the authorities’ official claim that there were no COVID-19 cases in Turkmenistan, demanding accurate public health information, and challenging the restrictions imposed at the time. 

Other developments concerning Murat Dushemov had unfolded throughout late July.

On July 16, his mother, Tyazegul Mammedova, managed to deliver a care package to the Abdy-Shukur detention center in Turkmenabad, though several items were returned to her. Staff claimed Dushemov himself had declined to accept them.

This followed weeks of failed attempts by Mammedova to gain visitation rights, during which prison officials repeatedly cited procedural justifications, not allowing her entry.

On July 15, Mammedova succeeded in locating the investigator assigned to her son’s case, identified as Agadjan Nuryyev. When asked for visitation permission, Nuryyev refused. He reportedly questioned her motives and later took her passport for an extended period, during which he drafted a formal request for visitation under her name — despite already denying the request.

He also informed her that a court hearing would take place within 10 to 15 days, suggesting a likely date between July 25 and July 31.

On June 20, Turkmen.news reported that the head of the Abdy-Shukur detention center confirmed Dushemov was being held there and had a pending court case. Officials told Mammedova the new charges involved an alleged fight with other prisoners. They also stated that Dushemov had been assigned a public defender, but provided no contact details and denied her any communication with her son.

Earlier that month, on June 18, Turkmen.news had reported that Dushemov’s whereabouts were unknown following his unexpected transfer from Seydi penal colony. Authorities had not informed his family, despite legal obligations to do so.

Lost Contact

On July 28, Turkmen.news reported that bloggers Alisher Sakhadov and Abdulla Oruzev were extradited to Turkmenistan from Türkiye. The information could not be independently verified at the time. 

The same morning, the Edirne Provincial Migration Office reportedly informed lawyers that both men had been released from the Edirne deportation center. However, neither family members nor legal representatives were able to contact them afterward.

When Sakhadov’s wife, Gulala Hasanova, attempted to locate them at the Sinop deportation center later that day, officials there confirmed only that the men had not arrived. She filed a missing persons report with the police.

Authorities accepted the report. Claims, however, emerged that efforts were limited to comparing photographs and no examination of CCTV footage from the Edirne center.

On July 27, attorneys representing Sakhadov and Oruzev received conflicting statements from Turkish migration authorities. The Edirne office maintained that the men had been released, while officials in Sinop denied any record of their transfer. No agency provided information on their whereabouts.

At that point, the men had already been unreachable for three days.

On July 25, Gulala Hasanova received a phone call from an unidentified individual, who claimed he was calling on behalf of her husband, Alisher Sakhadov. The caller informed her that both Sakhadov and Oruzev had been moved from the Edirne deportation center late the previous evening.

When one of the lawyers visited the center that day to confirm, the staff stated the men had been transferred to Sinop. Follow-up inquiries with Sinop immigration authorities showed no evidence of such a transfer.

The last direct contact with either activist occurred on July 24. At 19:50 that evening, Sakhadov called his wife and said he might not be able to call again due to construction at the Edirne deportation facility. This was the final confirmed communication with either man.

Previously, on July 14, the Constitutional Court of Türkiye had issued a suspension of their deportation order in response to a petition from their legal representatives. The court sought to evaluate whether returning the activists to Turkmenistan would place them at risk of torture or persecution.

The suspension has been described as legally binding.

Sakhadov and Oruzev were initially detained on April 24, 2025, in the Sinop province. The reason given was the application of code G82, designating them as a threat to national security. After being questioned, they were transferred to the migration authorities, which issued administrative detention and deportation orders on April 28. Their lawyers appealed those decisions in court.

Advocacy groups have raised concerns that the men were targeted for their criticism of the Turkmen regime.