Turkmenistan: arrested activist faces a prison sentence
A civil activist from Turkmenistan, Murat Dushemov, faces criminal charges under Article 108 of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan “Intentional infliction of moderate harm to health”.
Murat Dushemov was placed in a temporary detention center for 15 days for blocking traffic on the Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway. Together with Dushemov, his fellow travelers (Leila Nurmetova and her husband Juma Dzhumakayev) were arrested. Nurmetova got off with a fine due to the fact that she has young children. Her husband Juma was released after being 15 days in the temporary detention center. And Dushemov remained under arrest.
They put two persons in the cell with the activist. They started a fight, and later Dushemov was accused of allegedly attacking both of them. The police officers deliberately arrange such provocations in order to put activists in prison for a long time and thus silence them. Dushemov faces up to 6 years in prison.
It’s worth recalling that all three activists were detained at the traffic police post of the Ruhubelent district of Dashoguz region due to the fact that the police officer demanded a certificate of the absence of coronavirus, and Dushemov and his companions demanded to present a document authorizing the police officer to demand such a certificate. The police officers didn’t let them go and kept them in the heat for more than 4 hours. Dzhumakayev, having lost his composure, blocked the road with his car. The squad, who arrived on call, put handcuffs on them and took them to the temporary detention center.
