The World’s Worst Country for Journalists
Turkmenistan is so repressive it is even worse than in Soviet times, says editor Ruslan Myatiev.
Last month the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan overtook North Korea to become most repressive media environment in the world, according to the Reporters Without Borders annual Press Freedom Index. The media watchdog described the Central Asian nation as a news “black hole” where all media is controlled by the government and where the few independent journalists working for foreign-based news sites have been harassed, arrested, and tortured. Just 15 percent of the country can get online, and even then the version of the internet they have access to is highly censored.
Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @ak_mack
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