CIVICUS speaks about the disappearance of Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov with human rights defender Diana Dadasheva from the civil movement DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan and with Gülala Hasanova, wife of Alisher Sahatov.
On July 24, Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov were kidnapped in Edirne, Turkey, after being labeled a “threat to public order.” Despite requesting international protection, they were unlawfully deported to Turkmenistan. Orusov and Sahatov, prominent voices in the diaspora through their YouTube channel Erkin Garaýyş, are now being held, starved and denied a fair trial, while authorities deliberately delay the proceedings to exclude them from an upcoming amnesty. Their cases highlight the growing risks facing Turkmen activists abroad, who are targeted beyond their country’s borders. The international community must push for their immediate release and an end to such abuses.
What happened to Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov?
Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov are Turkmen civil activists and bloggers who have reported on human rights violations, corruption, migrant issues and social hardships faced by people in Turkmenistan. They were among the few who dared to speak, while most were forced into silence.
Last April, Turkish police came to their home on the pretext of checking their documents. At Turkmenistan’s request, they arrested both men on false terrorism charges, claiming they posed a threat to Turkey’s national security. They were taken to a deportation center in Sinop and later transferred to Edirne.
The Turkish Supreme Court ruled that returning them to Turkmenistan would endanger their lives and ordered an end to the deportation process. But on July 24, immediately after their release, they disappeared. Reliable sources told us that they secretly flew to Turkmenistan on a cargo plane, under the supervision of officer Amangeldiyev Amangeldy, who was later awarded a medal for the operation.
To this day we don’t know where they are or in what condition. Their kidnapping is a serious crime and a flagrant violation of international law.
Are there other examples of such human rights violations?
In recent years, many Turkmen activists who were brave enough to make their voices heard have disappeared in Turkey and Russia, including Malikberdy Allamyradov, Azat Isakov, Rovshen Klychev, Farhad Meymankuliev and Merdan Mukhammedov. Activist Umida Bekjanova is currently being held in a Turkish deportation center and we fear she will suffer the same fate.
Turkmen authorities are conducting a systematic campaign to eliminate independent civilian voices. In today’s Turkmenistan, anyone who refuses to remain silent risks being branded a terrorist or enemy of the state. These labels have become tools of repression, used to justify kidnappings, fabricate criminal charges, and force people to return to Turkmenistan.
What risks do Abdulla, Alisher and other activists face after being forcibly returned?
Their lives are in danger. We receive reports of torture, starvation, humiliation and psychological abuse. They are held in isolation and are denied legal defense and a fair trial.
In Turkmenistan there are no independent courts, lawyers or free media. People disappear for years in secret prisons, cut off from their families and the world. We don’t know where they are or if they are still alive. For their family members and loved ones, this means endless waiting and despair, a slow, silent form of torture.
How has this affected your families?
My husband’s kidnapping destroyed our lives. I am raising four children who ask every day when their father is coming back. We live in pain and fear, under constant surveillance and threats.
Being a Turkmen activist means facing harsh living conditions. Some, like Diana, live without documents, livelihoods or social protection and care for small children under constant fear of being kidnapped.
Yet we refuse to remain silent; if we did, others would disappear too. Together with the DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan Human Rights Platform, we have declared a hunger strike until Abdullah and Alisher return home safely. We have also launched a campaign ‘If I Disappear – Don’t Stay Silent’, in which we publicly name who will be responsible if we too disappear. This is how we protect ourselves and our loved ones, because today it is Abdulla and Alisher, but tomorrow it could be any of us.
What do you expect from the international community?
The international community must act urgently to secure the release of Abdulla, Alisher and other disappeared activists. They must also demand that Turkmenistan put an end to the criminal practice of labeling people as terrorists for simply telling the truth.
But explanations are not enough. We need real action. We call for an independent investigation into illegal deportations and kidnappings, and for those responsible for kidnappings, torture and repression in Turkmenistan and Turkey to be held accountable. We also demand the creation of a ‘Green Corridor’ for activists and families at risk, and the issuance of emergency documentation and financial support for migrants without legal status and vulnerable to exploitation, human trafficking and recruitment by criminal networks or extremist groups.
The world has no right to remain silent or look away. The international community must support Turkmen activists who have been deprived of their fundamental rights to identity, freedom of movement and freedom of expression. Their silence only gives the perpetrators more power and ensures impunity. Every moment of inactivity breaks another life. The international community must act now.
PLEASE CONTACT US
Twitter/Diana Dadasheva
Twitter/Gulala Hasanova
SEE ALSO
Coerced Loyalty, Fear, and Censorship: Turkmenistan’s Ruthless Assault on Civil Liberties Citizen Monitor June 26, 2025
Turkmenistan: tyranny mutates into dynasty Citizen Lens March 18, 2022
Turkmenistan: ‘There is nothing resembling a real civil society – and no conditions for its emergence’ CIVICUS lens | Interview with Farid Tukhbatullin March 10, 2022
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