TURKMENISTAN: MORE DETAILS ON 2007-2008 FREEDOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000961

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: MORE DETAILS ON 2007-2008 FREEDOM
OF TRAVEL CASE AND RFE/RL ARTICLE

REF: 07 ASHGABAT 0773

Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Freedom of travel issues in Turkmenistan
were the focus of a July 22 RFE/RL article that put post
local employee Jennet Gylychdurdiyeva, who has a health
condition that cannot be treated in Ashgabat, in the
spotlight. Gylychdurdiyeva, the daughter of RFE/RL senior
reporter Halmurat Gylychdurdiyev, was included in a list that
the Government of Turkmenistan passed to the embassy in June
2007 of individuals previously denied permission to go abroad
who would be permitted to travel. When Gylychdurdiyeva
sought to travel six months later, she again was denied
permission to leave (reftel). Although Ms. Gylychdurdiyeva
was unaware of the article's publication, probably by her
father, she confirmed that her health is deteriorating. Post
has raised Gylychdurdiyeva's case several times with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs since January 2008, most recently
on July 24, and will continue to press the humanitarian
aspects of her case. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On July 22, local post employee Jennet
Gylychdurdiyeva was made the centerpiece of an RFE/RL article
on Turkmenistani citizens who have been barred from travel
abroad during President Berdimuhamedov's tenure. POLOFF met
with her on July 24 to inquire about the status of her health
and to better understand the details of her effort over the
past two years to travel abroad for medical treatment.


3. (C) The article, likely written by her father, senior
RFE/RL correspondent Halmurat Gylychdurdiyev, described her
efforts to go abroad to obtain care for a serious
pre-cancerous medical condition, which has been worsening
over the past year. She was not aware that she had been
mentioned in the July 22 article. Both Ms. Gylychdurdiyeva
and the article indicated that last summer, oncological
specialists in Ashgabat told her that they did not have the
expertise or technological capability to provide her with the
level of treatment she now needed.


4. (C) In January 2007, she acquired a Russian visa and
bought an airline ticket for Moscow, where most Turkmenistani
citizens opt to go for sophisticated medical treatment.
Emigration representatives at the airport, however, could not
clear her to board the plane, and she was not able to travel.
In July 2007, after several months of post efforts, her name
was included on a list of those previously barred from
departing Turkmenistan who would be permitted to travel
abroad (Ref.).


5. (C) Ms. Gylychdurdiyeva did not seek to travel until
January 2008. She said that when she learned she would be
able to travel, she initially considered, but rejected, the
possibility of using a tourist visa, which would have given
her a maximum of 30 days in Russia. Instead, she decided to
request a visa that would be accompanied by an invitation
from a Russian acquaintance of hers, which would allow her to
stay in Russia for a maximum period of one year, if a
substantial amount of time was needed to undergo treatment.
She received the invitation from her acquaintance in December
2007, and again purchased plane tickets. In January 2008,
however, emigration authorities again told her she could not
board the plane.


6. (C) COMMENT: Post has no doubt that Halmurat
Gylychdurdiyev was using the details of his daughter's
declining medical condition to highlight the plight of those
barred from travel abroad from Turkmenistan. Post has raised
Gylychdurdiyeva's case several times with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs since January 2008, most recently on July 24,
and will continue to press the humanitarian aspects of her
case. END COMMENT.
CURRAN