Turkmenistan: students throw cigarettes into kilns. Source: Altyn ASYR TV.This time last year, Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov banned the sale of all tobacco products. This move was widely praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the head of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Unfortunately, those lavishing praise on Berdymukhammedov have failed to realise that his government is now using its new anti-tobacco legislation to stifle dissent and silence its critics.
At the beginning of December 2016, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Khudayberdy Allashov was arrested along with his mother and wife in northern Turkmenistan for possession of chewing tobacco. Allashov now faces up to seven years in prison after he “confessed” to buying 11kg of “nasvai” or “nas”, chewable tobacco. According to information received by Amnesty International, RFE/RL freelance contributor admitted the charges against him after being subjected to torture and repeated beatings.
Reporters Without Borders has called for Allashov’s immediate release, stating that he was being persecuted for his journalistic activities. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has also criticised the arrest, telling the Turkmen regime that it must guarantee journalists’ safety and free Allashov at the earliest possible opportunity.
