Reporter Nurgeldi Halykov Banned From Leaving Turkmenistan

Nurgeldi Halykov has been receiving medical treatment since June 2024 after four years in prison. He received a new passport in September, three months after applying although in Ashgabat it usually takes one month, and planned to travel abroad for work. At the end of the year he found a job in Dubai in the hospitality sector, which had been his area of work since 2017. His new employer provided him with an invitation and paid for his ticket with Fly Dubai. On January 12, when he tried to take a flight from Ashgabat he was turned back.

The delays began at customs after he had checked in for the flight. Halykov’s already checked-in luggage was brought back and put through the X-ray machine separately and then checked by hand. Several people watched the checks, and even some border guards came over.

It was clear from the conversations of the customs staff that they had been told in advance about Halykov and instructed to check his baggage. They thought they had been given a tip off about a lawbreaker and would find something banned in the luggage. However, the customs officers didn’t find anything suspicious and allowed Halykov to go on to passport control. They didn’t understand why they had been warned about this passenger.

At border control the officer in the booth sent Halykov straight to a separate office. There an investigator spoke to him and asked inter alia whether any members of Halykov’s family had convictions. Halykov told the investigator that he himself had been convicted of fraud and served his sentence. The head of shift then arrived and began to ask questions. He was interested in where Halykov was going and why and where he would work. The officer showed Halykov a video on social media about Turkmen girls who work in Dubai as masseuses and asked if he knew them.

The head of shift soon left and the investigator sent Halykov back to the passport control booth. The officer in the booth said that Halykov had been temporarily banned from leaving the country, and he could address any questions to the migration service.

There are no legal grounds for banning Halykov from leaving the country.

Point 1 Article 24 of the law ‘On migration’ says that a citizen of Turkmenistan cannot be deprived of the right to leave Turkmenistan or to enter the country. Article 30 lists the grounds for temporary restriction on Turkmen citizens leaving the country, but none of these points applies to Nurgeldi Halykov.

In September 2020, Halykov was sentenced to four years on a fabricated charge of fraud. He was really sentenced for working as a correspondent for turkmen.news and sending us a photograph of members of a World Health Organization delegation during the coronavirus pandemic. Various international organizations and US legislators spoke out in Halykov’s defense, while EU delegations visiting Ashgabat for talks raised the issue of his status with Turkmen officials.

The ban on leaving the country deprives Halykov of the opportunity to work and earn a normal wage. Work in hospitality in the rich countries of the Persian Gulf is Nurgeldi’s long-term specialization. By banning him from leaving the country and thereby depriving him of work in hospitality, Turkmenistan’s special services are forcing him to continue his journalistic work.

Source: Turkmen.news