Source: US News & World Report
“A journalist was seized by security forces in Turkmenistan as she was due to travel to Switzerland for an international human rights award ceremony, a group of NGOs said on Thursday, calling for her immediate release. … Soltan Achilova, a journalist and photographer, was set to be presented with a Martin Ennals Award, a high-profile human rights award at a ceremony in Geneva this week. Achilova was awarded the prize in 2021 but could not claim it as the ceremony was held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on Nov. 20 ahead of her scheduled departure, security forces pushed her and two family members into an ambulance and took her to a hospital for infectious diseases where she is being held under guard, the group of 11 NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a statement.” (11/21/24)