Turkmen activists face imprisonment, surveillance, forced returns and threats against relatives as Turkmenistan extends repression beyond its borders.
The HR report said independent journalists, bloggers, lawyers and civic activists are routinely jailed, harassed or forced into exile for criticising government policies.
It said that Turkmen authorities treat peaceful dissent, both inside the country and abroad, as a threat. The arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and politically motivated prosecutions have been long-running tools of repression.
It said security services also use surveillance and threats against family members to silence activists. Dozens of people remain imprisoned or forcibly disappeared in Turkmen prisons on politically motivated charges.
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Former detainees often face travel bans, police monitoring and the threat of re-arrest after release. Turkmenistan denies passport issuance and renewal through consular channels abroad. It said this leaves some critics unable to regularise their legal status abroad.
Turkmen activists in Türkiye reported surveillance, threats, harassment and pressure on relatives at home. Alisher Sakhatov and Abdulla Orusov disappeared in Türkiye in 2025 under suspicious circumstances.
It urged Turkmenistan to release people imprisoned for peaceful expression and end retaliation against critics and their families.
