Turkmen journalist Ruslan Myatiev banned from entering Turkey
New York, September 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Turkey’s July 25 denial of entry to Ruslan Myatiev, director and chief editor of Turkmen.news, a Netherlands-based independent Turkmen news website.
“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.”
When Myatiev arrived with his family at Antalya airport in southern Turkey for a holiday, police denied him entrance to the country, citing an entry ban. Myatiev told CPJ that he had not been officially provided with further information, but that he overheard law enforcement officers telling each other the ban was classified under code G-82 — which pertains to “activity against state security” — and had been requested by Turkmenistan. Officers detained Myatiev for four hours and questioned him about his work and travel before escorting him onto a flight back to the Netherlands.
Turkmen.news is among a small number of exile-based independent media reporting on Turkmenistan, which has one of the most repressive media environments in the world. The news website has repeatedly been targeted by cyberattacks in recent years, and Turkmen.news correspondent Nurgeldi Halykov recently completed a four-year prison sentence in retaliation for his reporting.
Myatiev told CPJ that cooperation between Turkish and Turkmen law enforcement has significantly increased since protests by Turkmen labor migrants in Turkey in 2020, leading Turkmen journalists working in Turkey to feel insecure.
CPJ’s emails requesting comment from the Communications Directorate of the Presidency and the Interior Ministry of Turkey, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan did not receive any replies.