Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova forcibly hospitalized, prevented from traveling abroad

New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkmen authorities to end the ongoing oppression of veteran journalist Soltan Achilova, who was forcibly hospitalized and again prevented from traveling abroad to receive the Martin Ennals award for her work documenting human rights violations in Turkmenistan.

Several men in medical uniforms arrived November 20 at Achilova’s apartment, in the capital Ashgabat, and claimed that she had an infectious disease and needed to go to the hospital, according to media reports. Achilova—a human rights defender, freelance journalist, and a former correspondent of the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty— did not have any symptoms, was feeling healthy and ready to leave for the airport when the men arrived in the morning.

“The forcible hospitalization of veteran independent journalist Soltan Achilova is extreme and farcical even by Turkmen standards. It shows not only how far the Turkmen authorities are ready to go to restrict independent journalists but also their fear of independent reporting,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “The Turkmenistan authorities should stop preventing Achilova from traveling abroad or practicing journalism at home.” 

Speaking to CPJ from home on Monday, Achilova said she was “locked in a hospital room with no phones or internet connection” as she missed the November 21 ceremony, which honors human rights defenders.

Achilova, one of few independent journalists in Turkmenistan, was awarded the Martin Ennals Foundation’s award in 2021 but was prevented from traveling in both 2022 and 2023 to collect it, and she has previously been banned from traveling, detained and harassed. 

The media environment in Turkmenistan is one of the most restrictive in the world, and international news outlets rely on networks of correspondents who often publish anonymously, a number of whom have previously been jailed on retaliatory charges.