The human rights organisations urge Turkmenistan’s international partners to support this appeal and demand that the authorities release unjustly imprisoned individuals and cease persecuting peaceful civic actors.
Neutrality Day is an important state holiday in Turkmenistan, and this year’s celebrations are expected to be grander than usual, as they mark 30 years since Turkmenistan’s neutrality status was first affirmed by the UN General Assembly in 1995. The celebrations will also coincide with the conclusion of the International Year of Peace and Trust, declared by the General Assembly for 2025 at Turkmenistan’s initiative, with a high-level international forum scheduled to take place in Ashgabat on 12 December.
In line with long-standing practice, Turkmenistan grants presidential pardons in connection with state holidays such as Neutrality Day. In the absence of other effective release mechanisms, such pardons remain the main avenue through which prisoners may be released early.
IPHR, TIHR, Turkmen.News and NHC urge the Turkmenistani authorities to ensure that activists, who have been imprisoned for their legitimate civic engagement and exercise of free expression, are included among those pardoned on the occasion of the Neutrality Day celebrations. By doing so, the authorities would demonstrate genuine humanity and give effect to their international human rights commitments – an essential component of sustainable development and peace-building efforts.
The human rights organisations particularly call on the authorities to ensure the release of the following activists who are serving lengthy prison sentences following unfair trials:
- Human rights activist Mansur Mingelov has been imprisoned since 2012, serving a 22-year sentence imposed on multiple charges after he exposed ill-treatment of members of the ethnic Baloch community. He has suffered serious health problems in prison believed to be linked to beatings he sustained following his detention. While the Turkmenistani authorities have confirmed that Mingelov has been diagnosed with the severe condition of tuberculous arthritis, they have reportedly failed to provide the official documentation required for his release on medical grounds. In a joint communication from September 2024, several UN human rights experts expressed regret over these reports, as well as Mingelov’s alleged lack of access to adequate medical assistance in prison. UN treaty bodies monitoring Turkmenistan’s compliance with international human rights treaties have repeatedly called for Mingelov’s release, most recently the Committee against Torture in April 2025. Already in 2023, the government pledged to consider pardoning him but this has not yet happened.
- Civil society activist Murat Dushemov was due to be released in June 2025 after serving an unjust four-year prison sentence issued in 2021 after he publicly criticised the authorities and challenged official Covid-19 policies. Among others, the UN Human Rights Committee had faulted the authorities for imprisoning him on these grounds. However, instead of being released, Dushemov faced new charges over an alleged fight with a co-prisoner – an incident believed to have been staged in retaliation for his efforts to defend his rights in detention. His family only learned of his whereabouts several days after his original sentence expired, were denied visits to him in detention, and subjected to Both human rights groups and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders criticised the new charges and called for Dushemov’s release. However, following a closed trial, where he was represented by a state-appointed lawyer, Dushemov received an additional eight-year sentence in September 2025.
The human rights organisations, issuing this appeal jointly, also call on the authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of activists who have been forcibly returned to Turkmenistan and to release them if they are in detention. In particular, the organisations draw attention to the following individuals, all of whom are known for having criticised the Turkmenistani government on social media:
- Bloggers Alisher Sakhatov and Abdulla Orusov were detained in Turkey in April 2025 and ordered to be deported to Turkmenistan for allegedly threatening public security. Their deportation was temporarily suspended pending legal reviews, but in late July 2025, both men disappeared following their reported release from detention. While there has been no confirmed information about their whereabouts since then, reports from relatives and human rights defenders indicate that they were forcibly returned to Turkmenistan under circumstances suggesting the direct involvement of Turkmenistani authorities. This has raised serious concerns that they may currently be held in detention in Turkmenistan in retaliation for their civic engagement.
- Blogger Farhat Meymankuliev was deported from Turkey to Turkmenistan in May 2023. Information obtained by human rights defenders indicates that he was arrested, convicted and handed a lengthy prison sentence upon return. He had previously faced harassment, including by being arbitrarily detained at the premises of Turkmenistan’s consulate in Istanbul, ill-treated, and pressured to apologise for posting videos critical of the regime. During its April 2025 review of Turkmenistan, the UN CAT raised concerns about Meymankuliev’s case.
- Activist Malikberdi Allamyradov was reportedly forcibly returned from Russia to Turkmenistan in December 2023 after going missing under suspicious circumstances. Prior to this, he had expressed fears for his safety and changed his place of residence after receiving warnings. Upon his return to Turkmenistan, he was reportedly detained and later charged with allegedly attacking a co-detainee – charges that appeared to be fabricated – raising serious concerns that he remains behind bars. During its April 2025 review of Turkmenistan, the UN CAT also highlighted Allamyradov’s case.
- According to information that has only recently become available, another Russia-based activist, Saddam Gulamov, was forcibly returned to Turkmenistan in early 2024 and was subsequently sentenced to a lengthy prison term. The charges against him are not known, but he is believed to be held in a prison in the Lebap region. He has reportedly been held in solitary confinement for extended periods – in violation of both national and international standards on the treatment of prisoners – driving him to attempt suicide on at least two occasions.
In connection with the upcoming Neutrality Day anniversary, ex-President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who currently chairs Halk Maslahaty – a high-level body established in 2023 – highlighted the implementation of international humanitarian standards and human rights principles as a key aspect of Turkmenistan’s Neutrality policy. IPHR, TIHR, Turkmen.News and the NHC urge the authorities to translate this commitment into practice by releasing individuals imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights, line with calls by UN human rights bodies. The organisations further urge Turkmenistan’s international partners to use all available opportunities to seek the release of activists targeted for exercising their freedom of expression and other civil liberties.