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Turkmenistan Clamps Down on COVID-19 Criticism

Asim Kashgarian

   WASHINGTON - At the opening of a new hospital in November, President
   Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said [1]no COVID-19 cases had been reported
   in Turkmenistan thanks to preventative actions.

   But social media users and news websites who counter that view are
   swiftly dealt with, say journalists and observers of the former Soviet
   republic in Central Asia.

   Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division
   at Human Rights Watch, told VOA that Turkmenistan has been imposing
   restrictions on fundamental freedoms.

   "This repression, combined with the government's reckless denial of
   COVID-19 cases, its failure to provide essential protective equipment
   to health care workers and ensure availability of medicine, equipment
   and the like to treat COVID-19 patients have jeopardized public
   health," Denber said.

References

   1. http://www.tdh.gov.tm/news/en/articles.aspx&article25062&cat26

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