RFE/RL Loses Contact With Turkmen Correspondents

Meret Khommadov and Jumadurdy Ovezov were arrested on March 7 in Turkmenistan's Mary province for alleged hooliganism at a local community meeting. They were released on March 16.

Telephone contact with Khommadov was restored on March 23, after which he made a public statement about his detention. RFE/RL's last contact with him was on March 24.

Ovezov, who has a grave kidney illness, has no home phone. RFE/RL had relied on Khommadov for updates on his condition.

In a statement, RFE/RL Acting President Jeff Trimble accused the Turkmen authorities of engaging in "a cynical cat-and-mouse game of intimidation that blatantly disregards basic human rights to freedom of expression."