Turkmenistan says RFE/RL working without accreditation
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 17 March 2012 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkmenistan says RFE/RL working without accreditation, 17 March 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4f717adfc.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 17, 2012
The Turkmen government has accused correspondents of RFE/RL's Turkmen Service of working in the country without proper accreditation.
Speaking to a UN meeting on March 16, Turkmen Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hadjiyev said, "If they think their actions are journalistic work, then these types of activities are not in accordance with the current law."
The Turkmen official was addressing the UN Human Rights Committee on the final day of a two-day session in New York.
The committee peppered the Turkmen delegation with questions about recent reports of human rights violations, some reported by RFE/RL.
One committee member noted that this was the first year Turkmenistan had reported on its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since Ashgabat acceded to the covenant in 1997.
Ashgabat's first compliance report was supposed to have been submitted in 1998.
With contribution from RFE/RL UN correspondent Courtney Brooks