Turkmenistan: Elderly journalist prevented from travelling to Geneva, forcibly hospitalized

Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) strongly condemn the shocking measures taken by the Turkmenistani authorities to prevent independent journalist Soltan Achilova from travelling to Geneva. The forced hospitalization of her and her family members on unsubstantiated grounds represents a new low in the government’s relentless campaign to silence dissent. We call on the Turkmenistani authorities to immediately release them from hospital, allow the journalist to travel abroad without hindrance, and stop harassing her because of her work. 

On 20 November 2024, 75-year-old Achilova was due to travel to Geneva in connection with a human rights award ceremony. However, early in the morning, four individuals in white coats and masks arrived at her Ashgabat home, alleging she had a suspected infectious disease and required immediate hospitalization. Despite her protests, she was forcibly put into an ambulance. She was not allowed to call her relatives or take her phone with her. In addition, officials confiscated her apartment keys, and one of them chillingly remarked that she would not need them “in the other world.”

Shortly after, when Achilova’s daughter and husband arrived at the journalist’s home to pick her up to go to the airport, they were met by a man dressed in a white coat outside the apartment. He informed them they also needed to be hospitalized because they had been in contact with Achilova and they were, thus, also forcibly hospitalized.

Achilova, her daughter and her son-in-law are currently being held at a hospital treating people with infectious diseases in the capital. The doctors have refused to tell them when they might be allowed to leave and go home.

This was not the first time Achilova has been prevented from travelling to Geneva. A year ago, in November 2023, she and her daughter were barred from leaving Turkmenistan at the airport, despite having all required documentation. Border officials subjected her to degrading treatment, including two strip searches, and deliberately damaged her and her daughter’s passports, rendering them invalid for travel. Following international pressure, Achilova and her daughter were granted new passports.

Achilova, one of the few independent journalists in Turkmenistan who works with the TIHR, has endured years of intimidation for her courageous reporting. The latest actions constitute another shameful act of retaliation against her, further eroding freedom of expression in Turkmenistan.

We urge Turkmenistan’s international partners to take all steps within their power to ensure the safety and well-being of Achilova and her family. The targeting of journalists and independent voices must not go unanswered. Turkmenistani authorities must be held accountable for their systematic repression of dissent, and Achilova and other journalists must be allowed to carry out their work free from fear and harassment.