Source: www.forum18.org
Date: July 30, 2024
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
In early July, an official of the mosque in the village of Dogryyol in
Charjew District of the eastern Lebap Region told mosque attendees that
Protestant Pastor Rahymjan Borjakov "will sooner or later be locked up".
The mosque official, Juman Illiyev, added that "work is already underway"
on this.
About two weeks after the mosque official had made his public remarks, an
officer of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) secret police and a
regional religious affairs official visited Pastor Borjakov's family home
in Dogryyol. "They sought information about his brother and cousins, taking
car numbers and details of their places of work or study," a Christian who
asked not to be identified for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 (see
below).
Relatives – who are not Christians - soon began receiving "threatening
and insulting" phone calls from a number assigned to a man named Ylham. He
is an officer of the Police's 7th Department, which controls religious
activity. The man who answered the phone when Forum 18 called would not say
if he was Ylham or not. Nor would he answer any questions then or on
subsequent calls (see below).
The telephone at Lebap Region's Religious Affairs Department in Turkmenabat
went unanswered each time Forum 18 called (see below).
The 44-year-old Pastor Borjakov leads a Protestant Church which is not able
to gain state registration under the country's tight restrictions on the
exercise of freedom of religion or belief. His church is not formally
allowed to meet for worship. Any meetings risk punishment (see below).
The man who answered the phone at the Cabinet of Ministers Religious
Affairs Department in Ashgabat said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away
on a worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn
Ibadullah was not in the office. The official – who did not give his name
– denied that any Protestant pastor is facing arrest or that his
relatives have been threatened. "This didn't happen," he told Forum 18 (see
below).
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself (see below).
Police and MSS secret police officers, as well as local administration
officials, pressure ethnic Turkmen, Tatars, Uzbeks and Tajiks and their
families not to attend Orthodox churches and to convert to Islam, a
resident of the eastern Lebap Region told Radio Liberty's Turkmen Service
in May. An official of the Russian-based diocese that administers the
parishes said he had not heard that pressure was being put on Orthodox
believers who are not of a Slavic background. (see below).
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ran from mid-March to
mid-April, officials tried to prevent devout Muslims exercising their
freedom of religion or belief. The MSS secret police stepped up
surveillance of those attending mosques. "Devotees who fast during the day
gather in the mosques in the evening and perform the Tarawih prayer.
Security officers are watching them and looking for 'extreme believers'
among them," an Ashgabat resident told Radio Liberty (see below).
Those considered "too religious" are summoned for questioning to the
district police station or to the Communal Housing Department. Officials
record their personal details and ask them how long they have been praying,
and the name of anyone who encouraged them to do so (see below).
Following a terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow on 22 March,
Turkmen officials launched a further crackdown on Muslims attending
mosques. In Turkmenbashi, Balkanabat and Cheleken, the police and MSS
secret police interrogated young people going to prayer. Officials
particularly targeted bearded men and hijab-wearing women (see below).
In at least one Region, officials tried to prevent students in secondary
schools and higher educational institutions from fasting during Ramadan
(see below).
The official at the regime's Religious Affairs Department in Ashgabat
denied that the state imposes restrictions on or pressures Muslims who wish
to pray in mosques. "No one puts pressure on Muslims," he told Forum 18
(see below).
MSS secret police officers have threatened state employees, including
teachers, who have been on the haj pilgrimage to Mecca or who reveal their
faith at work. They tell men not to grow beards, and women not to wear
white headscarves. Those who refuse to heed the secret police warnings are
forced to sign a "voluntary" resignation letter (see below).
Tight state controls on freedom of religion or belief
Turkmenistan imposes severe restrictions on exercising freedom of religion
or belief (https://www.forum18.org/archi
regime-approved activity in regime-approved locations by regime-approved
religious communities is allowed. Any exercise of freedom of religion and
belief without state permission – for example sharing any beliefs with
others - is banned and punishable.
The regime particularly controls the Muslim community, allowing only
communities of the state-controlled Muslim Board to exist. The small number
of permitted Shia mosques come under the control of the Sunni Muslim Board.
The regime names the Chief Mufti
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Hojaguliyev) and lower level imams.
Pastor "will sooner or later be locked up"
In early July, an official of the mosque in the village of Dogryyol in
Charjew District of the eastern Lebap Region told mosque attendees that
Protestant Pastor Rahymjan Borjakov "will sooner or later be locked up".
The mosque official, Juman Illiyev, added that "work is already underway"
on this.
Illiyev made the comments publicly, local Christians who asked not to be
identified for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18.
The 44-year-old Pastor Borjakov lives in the village of Dogryyol, which is
located 25 kms (15 miles) north-west of the regional capital Turkmenabat,
close to the border with Uzbekistan. He is often under surveillance.
Pastor Borjakov leads a Protestant Church which is not able to gain state
registration under the country's tight restrictions on the exercise of
freedom of religion or belief
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
formally allowed to meet for worship. Any meetings risk punishment.
"Threatening and insulting" phone calls
In mid-July, about two weeks after the mosque official had made his public
remarks, an officer of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) secret police
and a regional religious affairs official visited Pastor Borjakov's family
home in Dogryyol. "They sought information about his brother and cousins,
taking car numbers and details of their places of work or study," a
Christian who asked not to be identified for fear of state reprisals told
Forum 18. It appears that Pastor Borjakov was not present at the time.
Many of Pastor Borjakov's relatives are not Christians. "That's why they're
afraid," the Christian told Forum 18. "They fear problems at their places
of work or study because of him." The Christian believes the MSS secret
police are trying to use his relatives to pressure him to stop his exercise
of freedom of religion or belief.
Relatives soon began receiving "threatening and insulting" phone calls from
a number assigned to a man named Ylham. He is an officer of the Police's
7th Department, which controls religious activity.
The man who answered the phone when Forum 18 called on 24 July would not
say if he was Ylham or not. Nor would he answer any questions then or on
subsequent calls.
The telephone at Lebap Region's Religious Affairs Department in Turkmenabat
went unanswered each time Forum 18 called on 30 July.
Yusupgeldi Durdyyev, the Cabinet of Ministers official who heads the
Religious Affairs Department in Ashgabat, did not answer his phone on 29 or
30 July. The man who answered the phone at the Department on 30 July said
Durdyyev was away on a worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist
Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah was not in the office.
The official who answered the phone at the regime's Religious Affairs
Department in Ashgabat – who did not give his name – denied that any
Protestant pastor is facing arrest or that his relatives have been
threatened. "This didn't happen," he told Forum 18 on 30 July.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July. No election in Turkmenistan has ever been found
to be free and fair (https://www.osce.org/odihr/el
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) election
observers.
Blocked from leaving country
In early 2024, the Migration Service stopped Pastor Borjakov from leaving
Turkmenistan as he was preparing to board a flight at Ashgabat Airport. He
had a valid passport and ticket. "Officials refused to give him an
explanation," a Christian told Forum 18.
Pastor Borjakov then wrote to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to complain
about the arbitrary denial of the right to leave the country. Forum 18 has
been unable to find out if Pastor Borjakov received a response, but the ban
on leaving was then lifted.
The Migration Service often prevents individuals from leaving Turkmenistan
despite having valid passports and tickets, exile Turkmen.news notes
(https://turkmen.news/doch-tur
Officials almost never explain why they are doing so. Individuals generally
do not get back the money they have paid for their ticket.
Pressure on non-Slavic Orthodox?
As many people of Slavic (and Armenian) background, including Russians and
Ukrainians, have left Turkmenistan in recent years, the number of people
attending the dozen state-permitted Russian Orthodox churches has declined.
Among those attending are Orthodox of Turkmen, Tatar, Uzbek and Tajik
background.
Police and MSS secret police officers, as well as local administration
officials, pressure ethnic Turkmen, Tatars, Uzbeks and Tajiks and their
families not to attend Orthodox churches and to convert to Islam, a
resident of the eastern Lebap Region told Radio Liberty's Turkmen Service
for a 6 May article
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/a
This pressure is said to have increased since Serdar Berdimuhamedov took
over from his father as President in March 2022. That June, the new
President made the umra pilgrimage to Mecca.
Lebap Region authorities point to what they see as the example of former
president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who went on the haj pilgrimage to
Mecca in June 2023 and often attends the official opening of newly-built
state-controlled mosques.
Radio Liberty notes that as a result of this policy, pig farms were
destroyed in Charjew, Danew and Farap Districts, and two enterprises
producing pork sausages were closed in Turkmenabat. The authorities prevent
pork from being sold at markets. (Islam prohibits Muslims from consuming
pork products.)
The telephone at Lebap Region's Religious Affairs Department in Turkmenabat
went unanswered each time Forum 18 called on 30 July.
The man who answered the phone at the Religious Affairs Department in
Ashgabat on 30 July said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away on a
worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
was not in the office.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July.
Archbishop Feofilakt (Kuryanov) of Pyatigorsk is the Russian-based
"temporary" administrator of Turkmenistan's dozen Orthodox parishes on
behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate. He has held the "temporary" post since
2008.
An official in the Pyatigorsk Russian Orthodox Diocese (who said he had
never visited Turkmenistan but was familiar with the life of the Church
there) told Forum 18 on 29 July that he had not heard that pressure was
being put on Orthodox believers who are not of a Slavic background.
Ramadan crackdown on Muslims
The state-controlled Muslim Board declared the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
began at dawn on 11 March and concluded with the festival of Id al-Fitr
(Oraza Bayrami) on 10 April. During Ramadan, officials tried to prevent
devout Muslims exercising their freedom of religion or belief. The MSS
secret police stepped up surveillance of those attending mosques.
"These days, there are hundreds of secret police officers in civilian and
police uniforms in the capital's mosques," a resident of Ashgabat told
Radio Liberty's Turkmen Service on 18 March
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/a
"For them, these days are a good time to target the 'extremists' in the
country. Devotees who fast during the day gather in the mosques in the
evening and perform the Tarawih prayer. Security officers are watching them
and looking for 'extreme believers' among them."
Those considered "too religious" receive a call the next day and are
summoned for questioning to the district police station or to the Communal
Housing Department. Officials record their personal details and ask them
how long they have been praying, and the name of anyone who encouraged them
to do so.
Secret police officials also ask them whether or not they mark the death of
an individual after three, seven and forty days. If they answer that "There
is nothing in the Koran that says that these should be marked", officers
accuse them of being "Wahhabis". This is a term widely used in Central Asia
for Muslims officials regard as extreme.
"These citizens are blacklisted. If they have a beard, they are forced to
shave it," the Ashgabat resident told Radio Liberty.
Security guards at mosques publicly abuse attendees who have been released
from prison and are now religious, praying and fasting, Radio Liberty
added.
"Police officers shout to everyone that they have committed a crime, been
in prison, and now grow a beard and become a believer."
The official who answered the phone at the regime's Religious Affairs
Department in Ashgabat – who did not give his name – denied that the
state imposes restrictions on or pressures Muslims who wish to pray in
mosques. "No one puts pressure on Muslims," he told Forum 18 on 30 July.
Ramadan fasting crackdown in schools
In at least one Region, officials tried to prevent students in secondary
schools and higher educational institutions from fasting during Ramadan,
Radio Liberty's Turkmen Service noted on 19 March
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/t
Educational officials imposed the measures as Ramadan began. Radio Liberty
chose not to identify the Region for fear that individuals might face state
reprisals.
"These days, special guards have been placed in front of the doors of
secondary and vocational schools and higher education institutions of the
province. These guards have water in their hands, they make every student
drink water before entering the educational building," a local resident
told Radio Liberty.
"The leaders of schools and universities tell the young people that fasting
is forbidden, saying that they suffer heatstroke and faint," the local
resident said.
The man who answered the phone at the Religious Affairs Department in
Ashgabat on 30 July said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away on a
worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
was not in the office.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July.
Secret police threaten state employees
Ministry of State Security (MSS) secret police officers have threatened
state employees, including teachers, who have been on the haj pilgrimage to
Mecca or who reveal their faith at work. They tell men not to grow beards,
and women not to wear white headscarves.
Those who refuse to heed the secret police warnings are forced to sign a
"voluntary" resignation letter.
"Ministry of State Security officers are looking for and warning those in
state institutions, including teachers of educational institutions, who
have undertaken the haj pilgrimage and follow the principles of Islam,"
Radio Liberty's correspondent noted on 18 April
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/t
A Muslim, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of state reprisals,
told Radio Liberty that the government's crackdown on devout Muslims flows
from the regime's fears that religion could become a "force against the
government". He noted that while the government organises the haj
pilgrimage to Mecca each year, "the increase in the number of those
undertaking the haj and the growth in the number of believers seem to worry
the authoritarian regime".
The Muslim added that state pressure on Muslims exercising freedom of
religion or belief "contradicts the principles of Sharia [Islamic law]".
The man who answered the phone at the Religious Affairs Department in
Ashgabat on 30 July said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away on a
worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
was not in the office.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July.
Crackdown on Muslims follows Moscow terror attack
Following a terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow on 22 March,
Turkmen officials launched a further crackdown on Muslims attending
mosques.
In Turkmenbashi, Balkanabat and Cheleken, the police and MSS secret police
stopped and interrogated young people going to prayer. Officials
particularly targeted bearded men and hijab-wearing women, Radio Liberty's
correspondent in the western Balkan Region noted on 25 March
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/o
Local officials directly linked the increased scrutiny of Muslims to the
Moscow attack.
Secret police officers told Radio Liberty that the government's latest
crackdown on devout Muslims, which it described as "domestic security
concerns", also involved shaving men's beards and asking them not to pray
in mosques.
"People under the age of 50 are ordered not to come to mosques and to pray
at home if they are sick," a Muslim from Balkan Region told Radio Liberty.
"They also ask religious people whether it is necessary to fast at this
time. If young men have a beard, they will shave it off. If you don't give
up, they threaten to send you to Ovadan-Depe prison for five years as a
'Wahhabi'."
Ovadan-Depe is a harsh, isolated top-security prison
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Karakum Desert 70 kms (45 miles) north of Ashgabat. Prisoners in
Ovadan-Depe are known to have been tortured, and some have died from
maltreatment or neglect
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
prisoners held there often have no information as to whether or not they
are still alive.
The man who answered the phone of Balkan Region's Religious Affairs
Department in Balkanabat on 30 July told Forum 18 that its head, Rahim
(last name unknown) was not available. The official refused to answer any
questions and put the phone down.
Police detained three young men with beards in the mosque in the village of
Shatlyk in Mary Region, the exile Turkmen.news noted on 26 March
(https://turkmen.news/v-maryjs
The criminal investigation department checked their phones, but found
nothing suspicious. Police stopped other men with beards on the street near
the mosque and checked their phones. The detentions were linked to the
aftermath of the Moscow attack.
A Mary Region police officer told Turkmen.news that officers would soon
begin inspections of homes where Muslims "teach Islam". Police claimed that
young people attend such meetings, listen, and then "get involved in all
sorts of things".
On 29 March, the number of attendees at Friday prayers at the main mosque
in Turkmenabat, Lebap Region, was far fewer than usual. "Most of those who
attended the prayer were elders. Only some of them had children under the
age of a teenager. As in previous weeks, there are no middle-aged men or
young men. In general, the number of participants in the Friday prayer was
very low," a Muslim told Radio Liberty. Muslims linked the low attendance
to the Turkmen authorities' response to the Moscow attack.
The telephone at Lebap Region's Religious Affairs Department in Turkmenabat
went unanswered each time Forum 18 called on 30 July.
The man who answered the phone at the Religious Affairs Department in
Ashgabat on 30 July said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away on a
worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
was not in the office.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July.
Raids on, enforced closures of religious clothes shops
In the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi in Balkan Region, secret police
officers raided shops selling religious items – such as tasbih (Islamic
beads) - and clothes - such as hijab headscarves. They ordered them to
close and confiscated all their goods. These were the first such raids on
shops selling religious goods in 30 years, one local shopkeeper told Radio
Liberty in late March
(https://www.azathabar.com/a/o
The man who answered the phone of Balkan Region's Religious Affairs
Department in Balkanabat on 30 July told Forum 18 that its head, Rahim
(last name unknown) was not available. The official refused to answer any
questions and put the phone down.
The man who answered the phone at the Religious Affairs Department in
Ashgabat on 30 July said its head, Yusupgeldi Durdyyev was away on a
worktrip. He said the Department's chief specialist Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah
was not in the office.
Yusupguly Eshshayev, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the non-freely
elected parliament, each time put the phone down after Forum 18 introduced
itself on 29 and 30 July. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Turkmenistan
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For background information, see Forum 18's Turkmenistan religious freedom
survey (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion and belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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