Officially, there is not a single corona case in Turkmenistan. Human Rights Watch thinks it’s a lie. Human rights activists cite several deaths from doctors as evidence. The German and the US embassy also report infections.
In the corona pandemic, the Central Asian Republic of Turkmenistan continues to hide the spread of the dangerous virus, according to human rights activists and diplomats. The government in the authoritarian state on the border with Iran endangers human life with its silence, reports the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW). According to official information, there is not a single case of lung disease Covid-19 in the ex-Soviet republic, which is similarly isolated from North Korea. However, HRW lists numerous sources that prove the opposite, including several deaths from doctors.
The German embassy in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat has been restricting its operation because of Covid-19 since April, according to its website. The US embassy also reports on the infection process on its website. The Turkmen Department of State in turn accused the US diplomats of spreading false news.
There is no independent media in the country on the Caspian Sea. HRW calls on the “repressive government” in Ashgabat to finally give access to the experts of the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has therefore been trying to come to the country since April.
In the other ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, there are thousands of people infected. The total number of Corona cases rose in the four countries on Saturday by 1196 to 38,069. The number of deaths was given as 268. Comparatively little is tested for the corona virus in the region as a whole.
Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev is also ill in Kazakhstan. The 79-year-old still holds a large number of offices that ensure him great influence. In Kyrgyzstan, 17 presidential administration employees have been infected, officials said.
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