• Sweden. "With the ski resorts open, we can become Lombardy"
  • Pandemic: Santa Elena, the unusual case of the island of Napoleon that got rid of the Spanish flu

They assure by active and passive that, within its borders, there is not a single case of Covid-19, despite not providing any official and reliable data. And this is because Turkmenistan, one of the most dictatorial and closed countries in the world , has Iran as one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. Even so, this Central Asian state has decided that the coronavirus does not go with them and has even prohibited using the term both in the media and in society in general, whether in hospitals, schools, offices or parks.

What's more, if the Police catch someone making any mention on the street, they are automatically arrested. Masks may not be used under penalty of imprisonment either . What the Government is looking for is to erase any trace of coronavirus , so it has even eliminated the explanatory health brochures that alluded to the global crisis.

No Internet access

Thus, the population of this former Soviet republic of almost 5.7 million inhabitants cannot be highly informed, since most do not have access to the Internet (and a large part of the pages are censored) and the media, controlled by the State, are prohibited from bringing up the subject.

A group of men plays traditional music in Turkmenistan. SHUTTERSTOCK

Associations such as Reporters Without Borders have denounced the situation, not only "absurd, but truly dangerous", as Jeanne Cavelier, head of the non-profit organization for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, assures. "Authorities have lived up to their reputation by adopting this extreme method to eradicate all information about the coronavirus," he continues. Not surprisingly, it is a way of acting shared with other dictatorial states such as North Korea , which also denies having cases of contagion.

Worship the president

It is not the first time that the country's president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who made himself known for gifting a dog to Vladmir Putin for his birthday in 2017, shows his dictatorial methods. For starters, he rules for life. The leader, who promotes the cult of his person by calling himself the Great Protector, came to power in 2007 after the previous one, who led the Asian country, holder of the fourth largest natural gas reserve on the planet, died after independence. of the Soviet Union.

"This denial of information not only endangers Turkmen citizens at greatest risk, but also reinforces the authoritarianism imposed by the president. We urge the international community to react and punish him for his systematic violations of human rights," adds the Reporters Without Borders representative.

Associations such as Human Rights Watch , a non-governmental organization for the investigation, defense and promotion of Human Rights , have also criticized Turkmenistan as "an isolated and repressive country under the authoritarian government of Berdymukhamedov and its associates, for which it brutally punishes all forms of authorized of political or religious expression ".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • tourism
  • Coronavirus
  • Asia

Tribute Coronavirus: the flag of Spain illuminates the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

Coronavirus flights: sit in the window seat, do not move and other keys to avoid catching an airplane

Quarantine Where are Timbuktu or Vanuatu? An online trivial to test your traveling knowledge