A drought during spring impaired the growth of the plants, thus reducing the yield of the fields and making it impossible to fulfill the plan. The emergence of underground salt water and salt storms in May aggravated the situation, damaging the crops.

The five men – now aged between 37 and 58 — were punished for meeting to study the works of the late Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, particularly his collection «Risale-i Nur» (Messages of Light), according to the verdict seen by Forum 18.

On July 4, his relatives visited the hospital pharmacy and found a pharmacist lying on a couch and watching TV. The bag with medicines for Mingelov was next to him. Asked why he had not given them to Mingelov’s doctor, the pharmacist said he had passed everything on. When he checked the registry book however, he found that he had not actually delivered anything.

After Shirinbay Umarkuliev died of a heart attack in May, his wife Kyzlargul was asked not to place a headstone on his grave, in order to keep the news of his death away from a wider public. Shirinbay Umarkuliev was the father of Omruzak Umarkuliev, a student studying at a Turkish university in the city of Osmaniye, who reportedly was given a 20-year prison term.

The health condition of Mansur Mingelov, an imprisoned Turkmen activist, has worsened in recent weeks, as he was unable to receive proper medical assistance at LB-K/11 strict regime labor camp in Seydi, Lebap province. Last week Mingelov’s relatives found him in the medical unit of the camp, “skin and bones,” with prison doctors failing to provide him with necessary treatment.

Nearly half of the first report published by Turkmenistan’s Ombudsman’s office is a copy-paste from a Master’s thesis written by a student in Kazakhstan. As discovered by Alternative Turkmenistan News (ATN), the original work was published back in 2015.

On May 21, several policemen took Hekim Hajiev from his home – without a warrant – and brought him to the station in the city. Hajiev’s detention was not recorded on the police register.

Every convict had been subjected to torture and beatings during the investigation stage, several among the accused reported broken bones. Some of them complained saying they were kept naked in dark cells, for long periods.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO), formally banning the importation of “all Turkmenistan cotton or products produced in whole or in part with Turkmenistan cotton.”