New Charges Brought Against Turkmen Activist Murat Dushemov After Prison Term Ends

New Charges Brought Against Turkmen Activist Murat Dushemov After Prison Term Ends

Turkmen activist Murat Dushemov was due to be released on June 14 after completing a four-year prison sentence, but he remains behind bars after new charges were brought against him, turkmen.news reports. According to the outlet, Dushemov was subjected to a provocation shortly before his expected release: another inmate accused him of breaking his arm.

Dushemov is no longer being held at LB-E/12, the penal colony where he served his sentence. Sources say he is currently in pretrial detention at LB-D/9 in Turkmenabat—known as “Abdy Shukur” prison.

He is now awaiting a new trial, expected to take place at the end of June.

Dushemov was convicted on August 16, 2021, of extortion and intentional infliction of moderate bodily harm and sentenced to four years in prison. Before his arrest, he ran a video blog reporting on the spread of COVID-19 in Turkmenistan. One of his videos, in particular, showed him visiting a clinic to inquire about a Health Ministry order mandating vaccination. Following the video’s release, he was fined.

Less than a month later, Dushemov and several friends were stopped at a police checkpoint while traveling from Ashgabat to Dashoguz. Officers demanded proof that they were COVID-free. When they asked to see the official basis for this demand, they were detained. Dushemov and a friend were sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest.

However, Dushemov was never released. Authorities instead opened a criminal case against him on two counts. He was accused of involvement in a fight in his jail cell—though turkmen.news reports that the altercation was between his cellmates, who later claimed Dushemov had assaulted them. He was also charged with allegedly demanding a bribe from a clinic’s chief physician in exchange for not posting a video about vaccinations.

In 2023, Dushemov joined three other political prisoners in writing a letter to the UN office in Turkmenistan, pleading for protection from what they described as legal lawlessness.