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