In a video message published on 11 July 2024, Turkmen photojournalist Soltan Achilova denounced the harassment by Turkmen authorities against her and the independent online newspaper “Chronicle of Turkmenistan”.

Soltan Achilova, aged 76, is known as the last free journalist in her country. She was recognized by the Martin Ennals Award in 2021 for her human rights investigations into housing rights violations. The website “Chronicle of Turkmenistan” was established in 2006 by the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR), an independent human rights organization which was forced into exile after systemic repression by the authorities.

In her message, Achilova called on the authorities to stop tarnishing her name, harassing and persecuting her, her family and the people looking to her for help. Achilova’s phone has been tapped by the Ministry of National Security, limiting her ability to conduct her work as a photojournalist and putting pressure on her sources. She was also prevented by airport officers from travelling outside the country in November 2023.

Being a voice for the voiceless, Achilova has been reporting on the website “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” about people’s ordinary lives and issues, such as rampant power and water outage across the country. She stressed the importance of press and media freedom and denounced the repeated attempts to disrupt and shut down the website “Chronicles of Turkmenistan”. Several people in Turkmenistan have also faced criminal charges for accessing the website.[1]

She directed her harsh critique against the Berdymukhamedov family, in power since 2006, and the permissive attitude towards corruption and rights violations, including sex trafficking or abductions. She reported on the scarcity of natural resources left for inhabitants at a time when gasoline is sold to foreign countries like China and lavish infrastructure projects such as the new city of Arkadag are carried out.

The new instances of harassment come only months after the promises made by the authorities before the United Nations’ Human Rights Council[2] to respect freedom of expression, media freedoms and to end the repression of human rights defenders.

The Martin Ennals Foundation asks the authorities to abide by their international obligations and public positions in favor of human rights by immediately putting an end to acts of harassment against Soltan Achilova and the website “Chronicle of Turkmenistan.” The Foundation further echoes Achilova’s call for an enabling environment for independent press and media.

To watch her video message with Russian subtitles, click here.
To watch her video message with English subtitles, click here.
To view Soltan Achilova’s profile for the 2021 Martin Ennals Award, click here.

[1] Human Rights Watch. Turkmenistan: Events of 2023, Freedom of Media and Information, accessed 18.07.2024, available here: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/turkmenistan

[2] The human rights situation of Turkmenistan was reviewed by UN members in November 2023 in its fourth Universal Periodic Review. Turkmenistan accepted 146 of the recommendations other States issued: see matrix of recommendations at https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/tm-index