OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović has called on the authorities in Turkmenistan to release journalist Saparmamed Nepeskuliev.
Nepeskuliev, a freelance journalist and contributor to RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, was reportedly detained on July 7 and has been held in a facility in Turkmenistan’s Balkan Province on charges of illegal drug possession.
Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and other international monitoring organizations have also called for his release.