Turkmenistan’s authorities have released a reporter working for US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after two weeks of detention, RFE/RL said in a statement. RFE/RL said last month that Sazak Durdymuradov, a contributing reporter on its Turkmen service, was detained and tortured after he refused to stop working for the Prague-based broadcaster.“The move came amid growing pressure on Turkmen authorities to release Durdymuradov from a remote psychiatric hospital known as the ‘Turkmen Gulag’,” RFE/RL said. ”According to information received by RFE/RL, Durdymuradov was severely beaten and tortured with electroshock after refusing to sign a letter pledging never again to take part in RFE/RL broadcasts.”
Turkmen officials have not been available for comment.
Ogulsapar Muradova, another reporter with RFE/RL, died in a Turkmen prison in 2006 after she was sentenced for illegal possession of weapons, according to RFE/RL.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)