The first victims of the oral orders of President Serdar Berdymukhamedov have appeared in Turkmenistan.
According to an ACCA source from Balkan region, a married couple was fined for having his wife sitting next to her husband in the front seat of the car. The woman said that they went to the city of Turkmenbashi to their relatives for a funeral, and when they passed a traffic police post near Belek (the small town), they were stopped by a policeman and made a claim to her husband. The man objected that there was no such law, and the policeman referred to the President’s words. The woman was dropped off and the husband went for the money. He had to give $250 to the policeman; no receipt for the money, of course, he didn’t receive.
Women are also no longer allowed to be in the car after 20:00. And no more than three people (including the driver) can be in the car at the same time.
Measures to combat private taxis have also been stepped up. They are stopped, and if a stranger is sitting in the car, the car is confiscated and sent to a penalty parking lot, the driver is issued a large fine.
Strengthening control on the country’s roads began after the dismissal of Interior Minister O. Khodzhaniyazov. President S. Berdymukhamedov ordered the new Interior Minister Muhammet Hydyrov to eliminate all shortcomings.
ACCA previously wrote that there is severe discrimination against women in Turkmenistan. They were forbidden to dye their hair, visit beauty salons and inject Botox. Now there is also a ban on the front seat in the car.
