Turkmenistan

A Central Asian country bordering Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan has a coastline along the Caspian Sea. After independence from the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan endured a period of authoritarian dictatorship under Saparmurat Niyazov. There were tentative moves towards liberalisation after his death in 2006, but the country is still effectively a one party State. Turkmenistan’s human rights record is very poor, with heavy censorship and repression of political opponents, persecution of ethnic and linguistic minorities, the complete absence of an independent judiciary, rampant corruption, arbitrary restrictions on dress and behaviour, and extensive abuses by police and security forces.