Chairperson of Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Tadjigul Begmedova told “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” that on 25 October, 2020 two Turkmen nationals, who had planned to hold a protest in front of Turkmenistan’s Consulate, were detained in Istanbul.
Earlier that day a group of Turkmen activists Turkmenistan Halk Hereketi intended to hold a protest in the run-up to the former date of Independence Day, which used to be celebrated on 27 October before 2018 but later was later changed to 27 September for unknown reasons.
After learning about the planned rally, the Consulate staff informed the Turkish authorities.In the morning of 25 October police officers and armed guards appeared at the gates of the Turkmen diplomatic mission.
After that some activists headed to a park located nearby and held a demonstration there.A few people went to the café near the Consulate.
After this reports of eyewitnesses differ.According to one version, Turkish police officers followed the Turkmen nationals to the café and detained three of them.Later one of the detainees was released.
According to another version, one of those detained approached a police officer to allegedly to ask for permission to hold a demonstration.Law enforcement officers asked the young men for their documents but two of the detainees did not have them.
It should be emphasized that because of the coronavirus pandemic Turkey has introduced a ban on mass events.
Jumasapar Dyadebayev and Bairam Mammedov are being detained in the offices of the Migration Service in Pendik Goc, Kurtkòy (allegedly as violators of the migration regulations). Friends of the detainees are looking for a defense attorney for them, the human rights activist said.
According to Tadjigul Begmedova, staff of Turkmen diplomatic missions abroad have recently been trying to use local law enforcement authorities to clamp down on protest activities organized by Turkmen nationals.
Officers from the police station of Yeşilköy, who oversee the district where Turkmenistan’s Consulate is located, are also used by diplomats to persecute Turkmen nationals in the districts which do not fall under their jurisdiction, i.e. all over Istanbul.
On 27 October, 2020 Turkmen migrants and a few Turkish nationals were celebrating the Day of Independence in the café Bir Nefes in Istanbul. The tea party was organized by the Turkish organization Atawatan Gyzyl Alma. Information about the forthcoming event was quickly disseminated in Turkmen groups on social networks.
According to eye witnesses, about 25 people, including eight Turkmen activists, gathered in the café. By the start of the event Turkish police officers had arrived at the café in two minivans. They established the purpose of the event and left without asking organizers or attendees to show their IDs.
It turned out that the police had been informed by Turkmenistan’s Consulate that the attendees of the event planned to arrange terrorist activities against Turkmen diplomats.
Staff of Turkmenistan’s diplomatic missions in other countries also contacted the local police with a request to disperse protesters.
On 1 September, 2020 when the protest in front of Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Washington D.C.
was held, diplomats called the police and accused the heads of the opposition groups Murad Kurbanov and Mukhammed Duedji, the protest organizers, of inciting terrorism.
The police officers who had responded call made sure that the activists’ documents were in order and did not prevent the demonstration from being held.
Later Mukhammed Duedji said that the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the US Mered Orazov had filed a complaint to the Canadian authorities against a dissident, a Canadian citizen, who allegedly had threatened the Turkmen Ambassador and his family with physical violence.
“We are all witnessing how Turkmen civil society abroad is emerging.Regrettably, young people have no experience and as a result they make mistakes like those which occurred on 25 October.
It is clear that they wanted to draw the attention of the Turkmen authorities to difficulties artificially created by the Turkmen Consulate.The activists’ motives are understandable.On the other hand, while living abroad any citizen must respect the local laws and not to taken in by online populists”, according to the human rights defender.