Turkmen court sentences Radio Liberty reporter to five years in jail
A Turkmen court has sentenced an Radio Liberty correspondent to five years in jail after convicting him of encouraging a relative's suicide attempt, Radio Liberty reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "extremely worried" about what it called the "sham trial" against Radio Liberty correspondent Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev.
Yazkuliyev went on trial began on Tuesday for allegedly urging a relative to attempt suicide, in a case his family says is retaliation for his journalistic activities.
He was one of the first journalists in Turkmenistan to cover deadly explosions at a weapons depot at Abadan near Ashgabat in July, which official media initially downplayed as a minor incident.
RSF called the charges against him "absurd" and said Yazkuliyev was being punished for his outspoken investigative reporting and his online blogs.
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