On May 19, 2023, at approximately 21:00 Istanbul time, the police of Istanbul (Turkey) detained a civil activist, blogger Farhad Meymankuliyev (Durdyev). This was announced on his page in Tik-Tok by another civil activist living in Poland, Nurmukhammet Annaev.
In addition, this information was confirmed by Farhad’s friend (at the request of Farhad’s friend, the name is not specifically indicated), who lives with Farhad.
As Farhad’s friend said in an interview with the leader of the DVT movement Murad Kurbanov, “On the evening of May 19, at about 21:00, the police suddenly burst into the apartment where they were staying and detained them. The owners of the apartment (husband and wife) and Farhad and I were in the apartment.”
All the detainees were taken to the police station located on Vatan Street in Istanbul.
After clarifying the circumstances and confirming the identity, Farhad’s friend and the owner of the apartment were released. The landlady and Farhad were left at the police station for further questioning.
A few days before this incident, activist blogger Farhad Meymankuliyev presented evidence on his YOUTUBE channel that a GPS tracking device was installed on the vehicle he was using.
Farhad stated that a citizen of Turkmenistan working at the Istanbul Consulate General of Turkmenistan is behind this crime. Speaking on his YouTube channel, blogger Farhad confirmed that the SIM card with the number TÜRKCELL +905364092994 in the tracking device is registered in the name of Saydulla ROZYBAYEV.
Whether a citizen of Turkmenistan, Saydulla Rozybayev, has any relation to the installation of a GPS tracking device, he does not know. Farhad said that perhaps the consulate staff used a copy of Rozybayev’s passport.
In a conversation between Farhad’s friend and the head of the DVT Murad Kurbanov, he confirmed that together with Farhad he was taken to a police station, then Farhad was sent to a deportation camp located in Tuzla. After finding out the identity of Farhad’s friend, he was released. According to him, he was released because he had the status of a political refugee.
During the detention of all 4 citizens of Turkmenistan, police officers admitted that they were looking for Farhad Meymankuliyev and were detaining him according to an application to his Istanbul Consulate General of Turkmenistan.
Recall that Farhad Meymankuliyev (Durdiyev) was captured and beaten in the Istanbul Consulate General of Turkmenistan for his oppositional blogging activities during a protest on August 1, 2021. Earlier, this was reported by independent media. This information was also indicated in the reports of international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/turkmenistan
https://rus.azathabar.com/a/31399327.html
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/4870/2022/en/
For several decades, the Government of Turkmenistan has been criticized by international organizations and free democratic States for violating human rights and failing to fulfill its international obligations.
All the Turkmen media propagandize only the cult of the personality of the Berdimuhamedov family. The Government restricts the access of citizens of Turkmenistan to alternative media sources. On the instructions of the Government of Turkmenistan, all independent media and opposition Internet sites, as well as YOUTUBE and TikTok channels are blocked.
All civil society activists who criticize the policy of the authorities and their relatives are subjected to constant pressure and intimidation by employees of the Ministry of National Security and the Police.
