Myatiev, Ruslan
Who, Why and How exiled: In charge of a website critical of the government- Alternative Turkmenistan News, Myatiev avoided returning to his country after his studies in Bishkek, fearing detention.
Myatiev Ruslan is the director of Alternative Turkmenistan News (ATN), a Netherlands-based independent human rights group (Human Rights Watch, 2015; Centre 1).
Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests): Intimidation of his relatives who stayed in the country (Radio Free Europe, 2016). One of his associates, Stanislav Volkov has been physically attacked and intimidated by Turkmen secret services for reporting for the Alternative Turkmenistan News ( The Guardian, 2017).
Other actions during Stages 1–3 (dispossession/ overseas assets frozen/ intimidation/ action against associates/ …): Intimidation of his relatives who stayed in the country (Radio Free Europe, 2016). One of his associates, Stanislav Volkov has been physically attacked and intimidated by Turkmen secret services for reporting for the Alternative Turkmenistan News ( The Guardian, 2017).
Current status: Myatiyev moved to the Netherlands in 2010. His family moved there the following year (Gass-Pooré, 2015)
Press sources: Jordan Gass-Pooré, 2015.. 'Journalist, filmmaker: ‘In Turkmenistan, only pressure works’', Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, 9th March 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://www.shfwire.com/journalist-filmmaker-turkmenistan-pressure-works/ Radio Free Europe, 2016. "Majlis Podcast: Central Asian Dissidents -- Persecuted At Home, Harassed Abroad", 27 November, 2016 [Online]. Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/qishloq-ovozi-central-asia-dissidents-harassed-abroad/28142487.html The Guardina 2017. "People are afraid to say a word': inside the closed city of Ashgabat', 16th October, 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/oct/16/people-afraid-inside-ashgabat-turkmenistan-closed-city Centre 1, 2016. " Арест Назира Хабибова в Туркменистане: наркотики или «подстава»?", 7 October, 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://centre1.com/turkmenistan/arest-nazira-habibova-v-turkmenistane-narkotiki-ili-podstava/