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Turkmenistan Forces Government Employees to Surrender Passports

Employees of state institutions in Turkmenistan are being forced to surrender their biometric passports. According to local sources, the migration service has been instructed to collect passports within a week and submit a report to the State Migration Service in Ashgabat. Workers from the education, healthcare, transportation and other sectors must surrender their passports, or provide a certificate to prove that they do not possess one. The requirement was verbally sent to state agencies in the country's Balkan region on September 9, and enforcement began immediately. “The heads of local organizations have announced to their employees: 'Either hand in your passports or don't come to work from tomorrow afternoon.' Even chief doctors at clinics and school directors must hand in their passports,” a state employee in the town of Turkmenbashi said. Attempts to get comments from the authorities on the measure -- which coincides with an increase in the number of citizens traveling abroad -- were unsuccessful. In addition, as the number of Turkmenistanis joining Russia's army in its war in Ukraine increases, passports have also been taken away from university students. In late August, students of the Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute and the Turkmen State Medical University were forced to surrender their biometric documents.

Central Asia Justice Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Local Politics Local Politics Turkmenistan Business & Economy Business & Economy

Turkmenistan Continues to Hide Forced Labor in Cotton Fields

Although the season has yet to officially open, cotton harvesting is already underway in Turkmenistan. As reported by Azatlyk correspondents, workers, including budgetary employees in the Lebap province, are being watched by Ministry of National Security (MNS) officers. These officers, tasked with preventing information about forced labor being leaked, have forbidden the use of cell phones in the fields. Turkmenistan has long been criticized for its use of forced labor on cotton plantations, and authorities continue to hide the reality. The increased control by security agencies coincides with a briefing in Ashgabat on measures discussed in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO), to eradicate child and forced labor. Despite official bans, including an order issued by Labor Minister Muhammetseyit Sylabov in July this year prohibiting the employment of children under 18, child labor continues in some regions, including Kerki and Chardjev etraps, and teachers confirm that high school students, with their parents' consent, participate in cotton picking. At the same time, cotton pickers complain about underpayment. Employers also repeatedly renege on promised rates of pay and in Lebap, citing the poor quality of the cotton harvested, are known to withhold up to 50% of their workers' salaries, leading to inevitable conflict. Despite orders issued by the authorities to increase pickers' wages in accordance with the state's procurement prices for cotton, the workers' situation shows no sign of improving.

Central Asia Justice Local Politics Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan Local Politics

Kyrgyzstan’s First President Akayev Wants to Restore His “Former President” Status

Kyrgyzstan's first president, Askar Akayev, has sent a letter to the country's parliament (Jogurku Kenesh) asking for his status as a former leader of the republic to be restored. Having served as president from 1991 until 2005, this title was removed from Akayev in 2010. According to law, the status of former president gives a citizen several social and legal guarantees. The ex-president is granted state protection on the republic's territory, a state dacha for life, and a monthly allowance equal to three-quarters of the Kyrgyz president's salary. The head of the country's parliamentary committee on constitutional legislation, Cholpon Sultanbekova, has said that Akayev's appeal had already sparked discussions in society. According to Sultanbekova, Akayev wrote a letter on July 30 to the speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, but only now has the letter been sent to the deputies for consideration. “The issue will not be immediately put on the agenda. First, it will be considered by the factions and deputies. It will be put on the agenda only after that,” Sultanbekova said. On March 24, 2005, after the coup d'état (Tulip Revolution), Akayev fled to Moscow, fearing for his life. In 2010, after the April Revolution, when Kyrgyzstan's second president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was overthrown, Akayev was stripped of his presidential status by a decree of the interim government. Edil Baisalov, deputy head of Kyrgyzstan's cabinet of ministers, has commented that Akayev has ex-presidential status from a legal standpoint. “There is no doubt that Askar Akayev continues to possess the title of ex-president of the Kyrgyz Republic. If anyone wants to deprive him of this status, there should be a full impeachment procedure, which so far has only taken place against Atambayev in 2019 (the third President of Kyrgyzstan),” Baisalov wrote. Kyrgyzstan's current president, Sadyr Japarov, also spoke out about the matter. He noted that he had not discussed the issue with Akayev. “This is a matter for the parliament. How the Jogorku Kenesh will decide whether it will or will not give its consent is the legal right of the parliament. Whether to deprive the status of 'ex' or to restore it is also decided by parliament. Of course, there were many negatives during Akayev's rule. But along with that, there were positive moments in the years when the country gained independence,” the president said. Japarov said Askar Akayev could make such a request to parliament, unlike other fugitive presidents, Bakeev and Atambayev, who have criminal cases pending in Kyrgyzstan. “There were human casualties in the cases of Atambayev and Bakiyev. Therefore, I think it is wrong if the parliament restores them to the status of ex-president,” Japarov said.

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Central Asian Police and Prosecutors Follow the Money

Gathering intelligence on money laundering and terrorist financing is just one step for authorities trying to crack down on those crimes. Transforming the intelligence into courtroom-ready evidence is just as vital. That challenge was the focus of a European Union-led workshop in Türkiye this week that drew more than 50 judicial and law enforcement officials, many of them from Central Asian countries. The prosecutors, police and financial intelligence experts discussed asset confiscation and forfeiture, mutual legal aid, open source intelligence and parallel financial investigations, which amount to following the money while separate criminal probes are underway. “The need to ensure the conversion of financial intelligence into admissible evidence in court is paramount, as it is the step that allows countries to prevent, detect and better prosecute criminals involved in financial crimes,” David Hotte, team leader at the EU Global Facility on money laundering and terrorism financing. The EU project and Türkiye´s financial intelligence unit, which is part of the Ministry of Finance, organized the workshop in Ankara, the Turkish capital. It ended Wednesday. The participants were from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Somalia. In recent years, Kazakh authorities have pursued an international campaign to recover assets that they say were stolen and moved abroad. Last month, Kazakh authorities said they had completed an investigation into the case of a nephew of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and that the equivalent of $1.6 billion worth of assets had been returned to the state. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is also helping Central Asia with efforts against financial crimes. In April, it hosted a training session on money laundering for prosecutors, judges and financial investigators in Kyrgyzstan. Similar workshops have been held in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Some civil society groups in Central Asia say their governments could do a lot more to ensure budget transparency and curb violations of financial legislation. A 2023 index compiled by Transparency International ranks countries by perceived levels of public sector corruption – 0 is very corrupt and 100 is very clean. Kazakhstan scored 39, followed by Uzbekistan (33), Kyrgyzstan (26), Tajikistan (20) and Turkmenistan (18). The index scores are based on at least three “data sources” drawn from 13 different corruption studies and collected by institutions including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, according to Transparency International.

Central Asia Justice Uzbekistan International Affairs Uzbekistan Business & Economy Uzbekistan International Affairs

Proposed Temporary Moratorium on Russian Citizenship for Central Asians

Sergey Mironov, leader of the “A Just Russia – For Truth” party, has written on his social media page of the necessity to introduce a temporary moratorium on granting Russian citizenship to immigrants from Central Asia. Since problems related to migration are currently central to the attention of legislators, he believes that the party's previous proposal of a similar initiative should be revisited. According to Mironov, the state should oppose "mass passports for workers" and protect its interests in national security, by introducing a moratorium on granting Russian citizenship to residents of Central Asian countries, “at least until 2026. And during this time, it will be possible to regulate the legislation, reform the migration service, clear it of bribe-takers, and check the legality of previously issued passports." Mironov's recommendation follows in the wake of a previous report by The Times of Central Asia and the President of Uzbekistan's opinion that the increase in geopolitical tensions and disputes, as well as the lack of mutual trust, harm the development of international cooperation in the fight against the threats of terrorism and extremism.

Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Justice Justice Kyrgyzstan Local Politics Kyrgyzstan Local Politics Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Kyrgyzstan Tightens Gambling Regulations

New rules and requirements for casinos have recently been introduced in a decree signed by Head of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, “On gambling activities in Kyrgyzstan.” In accordance with the document, all transactions taking place within casinos are to be recorded on video cameras installed at cash, currency exchange and registration desks, and all activities in gambling establishments must be filmed in real-time. Recordings must be accessible for at least one month and can be stored for up to three months. Under the new rules, slot machines can only be installed in casinos and gaming zones must be at least 200 square meters. The decree also states: “Bookmaker offices and totalizators can be opened based on a license to organize and conduct gambling in betting offices or totalizators located only in the casino." Gambling establishments have been banned in Kyrgyzstan since 2012. The situation then changed in 2022, when new authorities permitted the reintroduction of casinos, albeit confined to places designated for foreign citizens.