OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media meets with Ambassador of Turkmenistan

On 11 February 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM), Teresa Ribeiro, met with Ambassador Silapberdi Nurberdiev to discuss co-operation of the Office of the RFoM with the authorities of Turkmenistan.

Ribeiro expressed her interest in visiting Turkmenistan and offered the expertise and assistance of her Institution in implementing Turkmenistan’s commitments regarding media freedom and freedom of expression. Ambassador Nurberdiev reiterated the country’s pledge to implement fully its commitments in the human dimension sphere and invited the Representative to participate in the activities of the new Turkmen department of online journalism and communications. The Representative accepted the invitation.

Speaking of her Office’s engagement in permanent monitoring of media freedom in the OSCE participating States, Ribeiro requested additional information on the case of the blogger Nurgeldy Khalykov, who, in September 2020, was sentenced in Turkmenistan to four years in prison.