Saddam Gulamov. Photo: turkmen.news
Turkmen activist Saddam Gulamov was extradited from Russia in late 2023 or early 2024. Upon his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and has been unlawfully held in solitary confinement since spring 2024, according to turkmen.news.
In 2020–2021, while living in Russia and working as a background actor, Gulamov used social media to criticize the Turkmen authorities led by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. He denounced the regime amid a food crisis, the denial of COVID-19, and the government’s silence about the aftermath of a devastating hurricane that struck the country in May 2020. He urged fellow citizens to “stop fearing and worshiping the dictator.”
Gulamov is serving his sentence in the LB-E/12 general-regime colony in Lebap Province. His prolonged confinement in a punishment cell violates the Turkmenistan Penal Enforcement Code, which limits such punishment to 15 days. A source within the security services told turkmen.news that the order to impose special conditions on Gulamov came from the Ministry of National Security (MNB).
The activist’s cell reportedly contains only a mattress and a toilet. He is denied visits, letters, parcels, and the right to buy food in the prison store. He is allowed a half-hour walk only at 2 a.m. It is reported that Gulamov has attempted suicide at least twice, after which the prison administration began using other inmates to monitor him around the clock.
Human rights advocates consider such prolonged solitary confinement a form of torture. Another Turkmen activist, Myalikberdy Allamuradov—also extradited from Russia in late 2023—is reportedly being held under similar conditions in the same prison.
The publication notes that in recent years, Turkmen authorities have intensified efforts to persecute and repatriate regime critics from abroad, particularly from Turkey and Russia. Criminal cases against such individuals are typically fabricated. Along with Gulamov and Allamuradov, activist Azat Isakov was also deported from Russia in 2021; his fate remains unknown.
According to turkmen.news, the UN office in Turkmenistan is aware of the situation of political prisoners but has refrained from commenting publicly. In May 2023, four prisoners sent a letter to the UN Resident Coordinator, Dmitry Shlapachenko, describing pressure and rights violations, but he declined to comment on the matter.
Critics of the government living inside Turkmenistan also face persecution. Civic activist Murat Dushemov, for example, was handed new fabricated charges shortly before completing his four-year sentence and received an additional eight years. He is currently being held in a high-security colony.
