Radio Free Europe has reported that two of its journalists were arrested in Turkmenistan on March 7. Meret Khommadov and Jumadurdy Ovezov were detained in the Mary region, though their current location is not known. The nature of the charges has not yet been disclosed and the men are reportedly being forbidden from speaking to their families.
RFE/RL Acting President Jeff Trimble spoke out against the arrests:

“This persecution, without even a pretext of legality, is a blatant violation of media freedom and the human rights of these brave journalists. We at RFE/RL are gravely concerned about the fate of Ovezov and Khommadov.”

Persecution of journalists is routine in Turkmenistan and reporting can be a dangerous activity even for those writing in ostensibly pro-government publications. Former editor of the official weekly Adalat, Ghudaiberdy Gurbandurdiev, was jailed in January this year on the charge of having colluded with individuals participating in the alleged assasination attempt on President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2002.
This is also not the first time that RFE journalists have been subject to intimidation from the Turkmen authorities. In early 2004, two RFE stringers, Rakhim Esenov and Ashyrguly Bayryev, were detained by state security agents in Ashgabat. They were reportedly warned against working for the news agency and then subsequently released.
In April 2004, Mukhamed Berdiev, a correspondent for RFE’s Turkmen service, was assaulted at his home in Moscow by three unidentified individuals. He incurred serious head and rib injuries, and his computer was destroyed. During that period he had been preparing a report on Turkmen citizens that had fled the country. It has been generally assumed that perpetrators of this attack were agents of the Turkmen secret police.
Later the same year, another RFE correspondent, Saparmurat Ovezberdiev, sought asylum in the United States after being subjected to unwarranted arrests, physical abuse and intimidation.
Meanwhile, RFE have also stated that they have fallen out of contact with all their correspondents across Turkmenistan. The organisation routinely checks up on its reporters by means of mobile telephones, but it transpires that no calls have been getting through. Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Ann Cooper also spoke out against the actions of the Turkmen government:

“We’re alarmed by Turkmen authorities’ actions against our colleagues Meret Khommadov and Dzhumadurdy Ovezov, and we are very concerned that RFE/RL cannot contact its correspondents. We call on authorities to disclose the whereabouts and all other details concerning Ovezov and Khommadov and to release the journalists immediately. We also call on government officials to halt their campaign of intimidation against RFE/RL journalists and allow them to do their jobs.”