The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a recent statement condemned Turkey’s denial of entry to Turkmen journalist Ruslan Myatiev.
Myatiev, the director and chief editor of Turkmen.news, a Netherlands-based independent Turkmen news website, said he was turned away at Antalya Airport on July 25 when he arrived with his family for a vacation.
According to Myatiev, Turkish police cited an entry ban but provided no official explanation. He reportedly overheard officers mentioning a “G-82” code — pertaining to “activity against state security” — and indicating that the ban was requested by Turkmenistan.
After being detained for four hours and questioned about his work and travels, Myatiev was sent back to the Netherlands.
“Journalist Ruslan Myatiev’s account that Turkey acceded to Turkmenistan’s request to ban him is a startling suggestion of Turkey’s complicity in transnational repression with one of the world’s worst press freedom violators,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Turkish authorities should revoke the travel ban against Myatiev, and Turkmenistan must stop retaliating against exile-based journalists.”
Turkmen.news is among the few independent media outlets reporting on Turkmenistan, a nation known for its repressive media environment. The outlet has faced repeated cyberattacks, and its correspondent Nurgeldi Halykov recently completed a four-year prison sentence believed to be in retaliation for his reporting.
Myatiev noted increased cooperation between Turkish and Turkmen law enforcement since protests by Turkmen labor migrants in Turkey in 2020, leading to a heightened lack of security among Turkmen journalists in the country.
