RFE/RL's Turkmen Service is the only international Turkmen-language media reporting independently on political, economic, cultural, and security issues from inside one of the the world’s most reclusive countries.
A woman who grew up in a Turkmen orphanage claims that defenseless orphans like her endure hunger, abuse, and even sexual exploitation in her country’s state-run institutions. But the government says the orphanages are a safe and happy home.
Authorities in Turkmenistan, an authoritarian state known for its tight control over citizens, have begun confiscating the passports of individuals trying to leave the country if they have outstanding bank loans.
Turkmen authorities are increasingly limiting women’s access to abortion, despite there being certain exemptions in the law for terminating pregnancies. Doctors warn that the ongoing crackdown on abortion is putting lives at risk, as desperate women resort to unsafe methods.
By law, the Turkmen government is required to provide social housing for young people who grow up in orphanages when they turn 18. But many of them don’t get free housing, with officials sending them to retirement homes instead, says a woman who was raised in an orphanage.
A former RFE/RL correspondent in Turkmenistan has died at his home in the northern Turkmen city of Koneurgench following a long illness that supporters say was brought on by pressure from the authorities over his journalistic activity.
The only mobile network operator in Turkmenistan, Altyn Asyr, has stopped selling SIM cards to clients, citing a limited capacity for new telephone numbers.
The new school year begins soon in Turkmenistan, but teachers have been ordered to get ready to pick cotton instead of teach classes. Turkmenistan regularly forces state workers, students, and soldiers to pick cotton, an important national commodity.
Many who live in Turkmenistan -- ranked as one the 10 most corrupt countries in the world -- say it is almost impossible for them to get through their everyday lives without having to pay a bribe.
In the middle of the summer with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, there is a severe shortage of drinking water in Turkmenistan, with the residents of several cities having access to water for less than an hour each day.
David Omarov, a native of Turkmenistan, says he was arrested and tortured there for being gay -- a crime under the country's repressive regime. He was also charged with "disseminating AIDS" while imprisoned in 2019 and forced to sign a confession before he was finally able to flee to Poland.
In a new restriction on people’s liberties, police in northeastern Turkmenistan are detaining couples holding hands, sitting close, or being affectionate in public.
Regional officials and employees of local state entities in Turkmenistan's western region of Balkan have been forced to buy watches with pictures of President Serdar Berdymukhammedov and his father and predecessor, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, on the face of the timepiece.
Turkmenistan has opened a section of the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway linking the cities of Tejen and Mary in southeastern Turkmenistan.
Former Turkmen utility workers ordered to cull dogs and cats in Ashgabat speak about the systematic nature of the brutal killings amid reports the practice of slaughtering animals continued during Ramadan. While the practice has long been reported, Turkmen authorities have never acknowledged it.
Controversial Turkmen popstar Nazir Habibov's reported arrest in Iran last month for drug possession has caused concern among his fans, and it's unclear if Habibov -- previously jailed in Turkmenistan on drug charges -- will be tried in Iran or if Ashgabat will secure his extradition.
Turkmen authorities are exploring how to bring Turkmen students studying at Russian universities back home, amid fears of an anti-immigrant backlash in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack on Moscow’s outskirts.
Authorities in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, have begun removing benches from the courtyards of apartment buildings, where neighbors get together to socialize. No official explanation has been given, but a municipal worker said it was to prevent people from gathering in large groups.
Authorities in Turkmenistan's Balkan Province have imposed an unofficial nighttime curfew, which bars locals from leaving home after 9 p.m. Officials say the measure is aimed at "maintaining peace and quiet."
Female students in western Turkmenistan are being forced to take virginity tests to check their “morality” and prevent teen pregnancies. Those who “fail” the controversial examination are being reported to security services.
Officials in western Turkmenistan have ordered locals to play ex-President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's songs at their wedding receptions and to banish foreign music from the playlists.
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