Turkmenistan Increases Monitoring of Former Officials and Enforces Travel Restrictions

Turkmenistan has launched an initiative to monitor former law enforcement officers and impose new travel restrictions, requiring special permissions for retired officials wishing to leave for medical purposes. Additionally, students must surrender their passports to attend university, aimed at curbing emigration and youth migration.

Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Justice has initiated a program to gather data on former officials from the Interior Ministry to monitor those who have emigrated. This initiative reflects a broader government effort to limit citizens’ overseas travel. The project aims to identify retirees who may have relocated abroad, particularly targeting former law enforcement officers who held ranks of major or higher from 1991 to 2024.

Since February 2025, collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Security, the Migration Service, and the Prosecutor’s Office has been established for this endeavor, which is scheduled for completion by April. The government is particularly interested in retired officers linked to former Uzbekistan National Security Service head Rustam Inoyatov, who gained citizenship in Vanuatu. Authorities suspect that similar schemes might have been exploited by individuals from their ranks.

New travel restrictions dictate that retired law enforcement personnel may only exit the country for medical reasons, requiring approval from the Ministry of Health. This measure aligns with earlier reports from September 2024, where public sector employees faced pressure to hand over biometric passports or demonstrate that they did not possess one. Such restrictions appear to respond to increasing emigration for employment or permanent residency.

Moreover, travel limitations extend to students, with recent reports indicating that those enrolling in Turkmen universities must surrender their passports. Non-compliant students may face denial of admission. This policy, reportedly in effect for two years, aims to prevent youth migration and has intensified from merely requiring signed receipts to full passport confiscation, held by faculty deans throughout the students’ studies.

The recent measures taken by Turkmenistan’s government, including the monitoring of retired law enforcement officers and the imposition of strict travel restrictions on both former officials and students, highlight an intensified effort to regulate emigration. These initiatives reflect concerns over citizens leaving the country, potentially driven by economic opportunities abroad. The ongoing trend of collecting personal data and restricting mobility suggests a broader strategy of state control over its population.

Original Source: timesca.com