The government of Turkmenistan is cracking down on opposition activists living abroad in a new push to stifle dissenting voices critical of president Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov.

A Moscow-based human rights group, Memorial, has highlighted the case of a Turkmen man known for his public criticism of the Turkmen government who is currently being held in Russia. Memorial said Rozgeldy Choliev, 27 was held on March 2 by Russian border officials at a Moscow airport after arriving from Istanbul. 

Choliev, who published a series of videos criticizing Turkmenistan's regime on Facebook in 2020, was a student at Karachay-Cherkessia university in Russia — he said he was expelled last September because of his activism and claimed he was visited by officials of the FSB, Russia’s main domestic intelligence service. 

Despite the fact that Choliev was in possession of a valid Russian visa, border officials told him that he could not enter the country due to Covid-19 restrictions and would be sent back to Turkey. They stopped when Choliev said he was seeking political asylum and that human rights organizations were aware of his situation.