Don't blame the sunbathers in Turkmenistan if their bikinis seem out of style at the country's forlorn Caspian Sea beach resorts this summer.

The Turkmen government has banned the import of new bikinis and other traditional swimwear, forcing swimmers and other beachgoers to use their old suits or come up with their own fashions.

Owners of swimwear shops say customs officials have also in recent months halted the import of any swimsuits, as well as short pants for both men and women.

"As the swimming season approaches, demand for these products is growing," one seller told RFE/RL. "But the customs officers do not explain the reason for this ban."

At a new bazaar in Ashgabat -- the glittering, white-marbled capital of Turkmenistan -- shopkeepers that still have swimwear and shorts for sale say they are only able to offer what's left from their old inventory.

Once those are gone, it's unclear what people without a bathing suit will wear in the arid Central Asia nation -- and for those who like wearing shorts in a country where summer temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

It’s also unclear whether old bikinis will also fall afoul of government fashion norms.

New bikinis and shorts are just the latest in a long line of goods that the Turkmen government has decided aren’t acceptable for its people.

Ruled tightly since 2007 by authoritarian President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who has dubbed himself "The Protector," Turkmenistan has in recent months imposed bans on such things as black-painted cars (the president thinks white cars bring "good fortune"). Also prohibited: fingernail polish, hair dye, and gold jewelry for all state workers, The Chronicle of Turkmenistan newspaper reported last month.

Like those previous bans, no government statement has been issued about the prohibition on the import of bikinis and shorts.

One customs official told RFE/RL that the ban is connected with the "the moral norms of the Turkmen people," and alluded to officials not wanting Turkmen women to wear revealing swimsuits. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, since he was not authorized to speak to the media.



With no official word about the ban, most people are finding out about it the hard way, as happened earlier this year when Ashgabat police began impounding black vehicles parked around the capital, even pulling over the drivers of such dark cars and issuing stiff fines.



The ban on nail polish and hair dyes for government employees was only the start, as shops that sold such items reported they were no longer allowed by customs officials to import the products. The items are slowly vanishing from store shelves.



Many Turkmen find the hair-dye ban to be particularly ironic, since Berdymukhammedov himself was known to have random streaks of gray upon his head early in his rule, though in recent years he has appeared in public with a head of sheer black hair, with some referring to him as a "burning brunette."

Turkmenistan is a conservative society whose cultural and fashion norms are also influenced by Islam, the dominant religion. Still, traditional swimwear of the sort found in Western countries -- for both men and women -- isn’t an uncommon sight on the country’s Caspian Sea beaches.

Many of the clothing and fashion bans appear to have focused on women, when in 2013 female state workers and students were issued rules that instructed them to wear scarlet-red dresses and state-approved national scarves.



Natural-gas rich Turkmenistan and its sparse population of some 5 million people should be relatively well off. But the government's management of the economy has led to problems such as high unemployment, rampant inflation, and severe shortages of staples, including bread. That’s forced Turkmen to smuggle flour in from bordering countries.



With an average monthly salary of about 1,200 manats (about $300), some people have been forced to seek work in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and other Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.



A group of Turkmen staged an impromptu protest on April 3 after they were prevented, without explanation, from boarding a plane to Istanbul amid a government campaign to keep people from leaving the country:





Written by Pete Baumgartner based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service </s> France’s top judges have suspended a ban on burkinis on French beaches which sparked worldwide outrage and criticism.

The country’s highest administrative court released a statement saying the ban would be suspended pending a definitive ruling.

It said the ban "seriously and clearly illegally breached fundamental freedoms to come and go, freedom of beliefs and individual freedom".

The Conseil d'Etat gave the ruling following a request from the League of Human Rights to overturn the burkini ban in the Mediterranean town of Villeneuve-Loubet on the grounds it contravenes civil liberties.

A human rights lawyer says the decision by France's top administrative court to overturn a ban on burkini swimsuits should set a legal precedent for the whole country.

Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters that other mayors who have banned burkinis must conform to Friday's decision regarding the town of Villeneuve-Loubet.

He also said women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday's decision.

"It is a decision that is meant to set legal precedent," he said. "Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. Logically the mayors should withdraw these ordinances. If not legal actions could be taken" against those towns.

"Today the state of law is that these ordinances are not justified. They violate fundamental liberties and they should be withdrawn."

But the mayor of Sisco in northern Corsica says he won't lift his ban which was put in place after sunbathers of North African origin clashed with Sisco villagers on the beach earlier in August.

He told BFM-TV on Friday: "Here the tension is very, very, very strong and I won't withdraw it."

A protest against France’s “oppressive” ban on was staged at the country’s embassy in London on Thursday.

Both Muslim and non-Muslim women donned burkinis, bikinis and swimsuits to sit on a makeshift beach in a bid to force the French government to repeal the "oppressive" law, under which women on beaches have been ordered to remove religious clothing by armed police.

Under the French legal system, temporary decisions can be handed down before the court takes more time to prepare a judgement on the underlying legality of the case.

This page is being updated. </s> France’s highest administrative court on Friday suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town after it was challenged by rights groups.

In a judgement expected to set a precedent, the State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit was a “proven risk” to public order.

The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns to have introduced the bans.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as a “victory for common sense”.

Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns, including in the popular tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, sparking controversy in France and abroad. The burkini bans have triggered a fierce debate about women’s rights and the French state’s strictly-guarded secularism.

“By overturning a discriminatory ban that is fuelled by and is fuelling prejudice and intolerance, Friday’s decision has drawn an important line in the sand,” Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen said.“French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women,” he said.

The CFCM’s secretary general Abdallah Zekri said, “This victory for common sense will help to take the tension out of a situation which has become very tense for our Muslim compatriots, especially women.”

The State Council heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group.

A court in Nice had upheld the Villeneuve-Loubet ban this week.

President Francois Hollande said yesterday that life in France “supposes that everyone sticks to the rules and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatization”.

Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice as she removed a long-sleeved top.

The office of Nice’s mayor denied that the woman had been forced to remove clothing, telling AFP she was showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, over a pair of leggings, when the picture was taken.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday condemned any “stigmatization” of Muslims, but maintained that the burkini was “a political sign of religious proselytizing”.

But in a sign of the divisions within the Socialist government on the issue, Education Minister Najat Vallaud- Belkacem said the “proliferation” of burkini bans “was not a welcome development”.

Vallaud-Belkacem, who is of Moroccan origin, took issue with the wording of the ban in Nice which linked the measure to the jihadist truck attack in the resort last month in which 86 people were killed. “In my opinion, there is nothing to prove that there is a link between the terrorism of Daesh and what a woman wears on a beach,” she said, using another term for Islamic State. </s> France’s highest administrative court on Friday suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town after it was challenged by rights groups.

In a judgement expected to set a precedent, the State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit was a “proven risk” to public order.

The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns to have introduced the bans.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as a “victory for common sense”.

Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns, including in the popular tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, sparking controversy in France and abroad.

The burkini bans have triggered a fierce debate about women’s rights and the French state’s strictly-guarded secularism.

– ‘Line in the sand’ -Amnesty International welcomed the ruling.

“By overturning a discriminatory ban that is fuelled by and is fuelling prejudice and intolerance, today’s decision has drawn an important line in the sand,” Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen said.

“French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women,” he said.

The CFCM’s secretary general Abdallah Zekri said: “This victory for common sense will help to take the tension out of a situation which has become very tense for our Muslim compatriots, especially women.”

The State Council heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group.

A court in Nice had upheld the Villeneuve-Loubet ban this week.

President Francois Hollande said Thursday that life in France “supposes that everyone sticks to the rules and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatisation”.

Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice as she removed a long-sleeved top.

The office of Nice’s mayor denied that the woman had been forced to remove clothing, telling AFP she was showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, over a pair of leggings, when the picture was taken.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday condemned any “stigmatisation” of Muslims, but maintained that the burkini was “a political sign of religious proselytising”.

“We are not at war with Islam… the French republic is welcoming (to Muslims), we are protecting them against discrimination,” he told BFMTV.

But in a sign of the divisions within the Socialist government on the issue, Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the “proliferation” of burkini bans “was not a welcome development”.

Vallaud-Belkacem, who is of Moroccan origin, took issue with the wording of the ban in Nice which linked the measure to the jihadist truck attack in the resort last month in which 86 people were killed.

“In my opinion, there is nothing to prove that there is a link between the terrorism of Daesh and what a woman wears on a beach,” she said, using another term for Islamic State.

But Valls contradicted his minister’s claims, saying the bans were necessary to maintain “public order”.

– ‘No legal justification’ -The administrative court in Nice ruled Monday that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was “necessary” to prevent “public disorder” after the Nice attack and the murder of a Catholic priest by two jihadists in northern France.

But in its ruling, the State Council said: “In the absence of such risks, the emotion and the concerns arising from terrorist attacks, especially the attack in Nice on July 14, are not sufficient to legally justify a ban.”

The so-called burkini bans never actually mention the word burkini, although they are clearly aimed at the garment which covers the hair but leaves the face visible and stretches down to the ankles.

The vague wording of the prohibitions has caused confusion.

Apart from the incident in the photographs in Nice, a 34-year-old mother of two told AFP on Tuesday she had been fined on the beach in the resort of Cannes wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf.

France was the first European country to ban the wearing of the Islamic face veil in public in 2010. </s> France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on the burkini in a Riviera coastal town after a challenge by rights groups.

The ruling from the state council suspends a single decree against full-body swimsuits issued by the mayor in the southern resort of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice. But it is likely to set a precedent for other towns that have banned the swimwear on their beaches.

The state council ruled that the mayor did not have the right to issue a burkini ban – stating that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if there was a “proven risk” to public order. It believed that proven risk had not been demonstrated.

The bans – made in the form of short-term mayoral decrees – began to be issued in a series of beach spots following the Bastille Day attack in Nice and the murder of a priest in Normandy.

They do not explicitly use the word burkini but ban “beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation”, citing reasons such as the need to protect public order, hygiene or French laws on secularism.

At a hearing before the state council on Thursday, lawyers for the rights groups in the Villeneuve-Loubet case argued that the bans were feeding fear and infringe on basic freedom. 



A lower court had ruled on Monday that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was necessary to prevent public disorder. But the state council found that this did not hold up under French law. 



The row over burkinis had intensified after a woman in a headscarf was photographed on a beach in Nice removing a long-sleeved top while surrounded by armed police.

The city banned the burkini on its beaches last week, following about 15 seaside areas in south-east France where mayors had done the same.

The bans have divided France’s government and society and drawn anger abroad. The former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, campaigning for his party’s nomination to run again as president in 2017, used his first public rally this week to call for a nationwide ban on the swimsuits, while the Socialist government has become divided, with the prime minister and one of its leading feminist voices at cabinet-level taking opposing positions.

The burkini bans have prompted a row over the French principle of laïcité – secularism – amid accusations that politicians are twisting and distorting this principle for political gain, and using it to target Muslims.



The French republic is built on a strict separation of church and state, intended to foster equality for all private beliefs. In theory, the state is neutral in terms of religion and allows everyone the freedom to practise their faith as long as there is no threat to public order. </s> Activists protest outside the French embassy during, the "wear what you want beach party" in London on Thursday. The protest is against the French authorities clampdown on Muslim women wearing burkinis on the beach.

France's highest administrative court on Friday suspended a ban on full-body burkini swimsuits that has outraged Muslims and opened divisions within the government, pending a definitive ruling, the court said in a statement.

The Conseil d'Etat gave the ruling following a request from the League of Human Rights to overturn the burkini ban in the Mediterranean town of Villeneuve-Loubet on the grounds it contravenes civil liberties.

Under the French legal system, temporary decisions can be handed down before the court takes more time to prepare a judgement on the underlying legality of the case. </s> France’s top administrative court has overturned a town burkini ban amid shock and anger worldwide after some Muslim women were ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.

The ruling by the Council of State specifically concerns a ban in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet.

Under the French legal system, temporary decisions can be handed down before the court takes more time to prepare a judgement on the underlying legality of the case.

The ruling will be binding and will affect at least 30 other coastal towns, mainly in southeast France, that have made similar decrees.

Lawyers for two human rights groups challenged the legality of the ban, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.

Mayors had cited concern about public order after deadly Islamic extremist attacks this summer, and many officials have argued that burkinis oppress women.

Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters that the decision should set a precedent, and that other mayors should conform to it. He also said women who have already received fines can protest against them based on Friday’s decision.

Images of uniformed police appearing to require a woman to take off her tunic in Nice, and media accounts of similar incidents, have elicited shock and anger online this week. Some fear that burkini bans in several French towns, based on a strict application of French secularism policies, are worsening religious tensions.

The mayor of Sisco, in northern Corsica, said he will not lift his ban on the burkini despite the ruling.

Ange-Pierre Vivoni had banned the burkini after an August 13th clash on a beach in Sisco. He told BFM-TV: “Here the tension is very, very, very strong and I won’t withdraw it.”

He conceded he does not know whether a woman was actually wearing a burkini the day a clash occurred that set a group of sunbathers of North African origin, from another town, against villagers from Sisco.

It took days to untangle the events leading to the violence that many immediately assumed was over a burkini.

Divisions have emerged in President Francois Hollande’s government over the bans, and protests have been held in London and Berlin by those defending women’s right to wear what they want on the beach. Critics of the local decrees have said the orders are too vague, prompting local police officials to fine even women wearing the traditional Islamic headscarf and the hijab, but not burkinis. </s> (CNN) Mayors do not have the right to ban burkinis, France's highest administrative court ruled Friday.

The Council of State's ruling suspends a ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, and could affect cities around the country that have prohibited the full-length swimsuit.

More than 30 French towns have banned burkinis , which cover the whole body except for the face, hands and feet.

Officials say banning the burkini -- worn mostly by Muslim women -- is a response to growing terror concerns and heightened tensions after a series of terror attacks.

Human rights activists argue that burkini bans are illegal, and that pushes to outlaw the garment are Islamophobic.

"By overturning a discriminatory ban that is fueled by and is fueling prejudice and intolerance, today's decision has drawn an important line in the sand," Amnesty International Europe Director John Dalhuisen said in a statement.

But it's unclear how other towns with burkini bans will respond to Friday's decision. If mayors continue to enforce and enact such decrees, they could face similar legal challenges.

No matter what, battles over the burkini in the court -- and in the court of public opinion -- are far from over.

Friday's decision was an initial ruling by the Council of State while it continues to prepare its more detailed judgment on the legal issues in the case.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said he supports banning burkinis. And former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who plans to run again for the nation's top job, has said he would immediately enact a national ban of the swimsuits.

Critics of the bans say they discriminate against the women they claim to protect.

"These bans do nothing to increase public safety, but do a lot to promote public humiliation," Dalhuisen said. "Not only are they in themselves discriminatory, but as we have seen, the enforcement of these bans leads to abuses and the degrading treatment of Muslim women and girls."

Authorities in Nice say the officers were simply exercising their duties. Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi denounced the photos, saying they put the officers in danger.

"I condemn these unacceptable provocations," he said.

In London, demonstrators created a makeshift beach Thursday outside the French Embassy for a "Wear what you want beach party."

Jenny Dawkins, a Church of England priest, told CNN she joined the protest after seeing a photo of the incident in Nice.

"I think it's a frightening image," she said. "I find it quite chilling to see an image of a woman surrounded by men with guns being told to take her clothes off."

In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban wearing in public the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes.

And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously enforced secularism. </s> The city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is famous for two characteristics. It has the highest concentration of marble buildings in the world and is capital of one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The two are not unrelated: all-powerful central Asian dictators with natural resource wealth are able to construct ostentatious monuments to themselves with little concern for their citizens.

But the current Turkmen leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has grown tired of building with marble. On Sunday the 60-year-old dentist’s newest vanity project will be unveiled: the latest edition of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. As its population continues to endure severe poverty, Turkmenistan has spent a reported US$5bn (£3.74bn) on infrastructure to host this niche sporting event.

Last week in Lima the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, gave a grandiose speech pitting the movement he leads against the forces of nationalism and isolationism sweeping the globe. “We stand for peace, diversity, tolerance and respect,” he said. “These trends are a call to action for us. More than ever the world needs our Olympic values.” At the same time athletes from more than 60 of his member nations were travelling to one of the most repressive countries in the world for an event run by the IOC’s Asian affiliate.

A resource-rich nation spending its fiscal reserves on extravagant international events is nothing new but the scale of repression in Turkmenistan is extreme. The former Soviet state is among the worst in the world in that regard; Freedom House gave Turkmenistan a score of three out of 100 in its annual report, describing it as “a highly repressive authoritarian state where citizens’ political rights and civil liberties are almost completely denied in practice”. Only Syria had a lower aggregate score in the report, while Turkmenistan found itself in the esteemed company of Eritrea, North Korea and Uzbekistan.

“Turkmenistan is the most repressive government in the post-Soviet region,” says Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and central Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). “This is a government that permits absolutely no criticism, no matter how mild, of government actions, policies or social agenda.”

Yet on Sunday athletes from across Asia and the Pacific are expected to take part. Countries as diverse as China, Kiribati, Palestine and Timor-Leste will be represented, contesting sports including swimming, cycling, e-sports, chess and several martial arts. One first-time participant at the Games is Australia, with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) eager to strengthen sporting ties with Asia.

The Observer put four questions to the AOC’s president, John Coates, regarding the propriety of Australia’s participation, with the phrase “human rights” or similar appearing five times. The administrator ignored these questions and did not include the phrase once in his response, instead offering platitudes. “Participating in these Games represents a wonderful opportunity for our young and developing Australian team of 18 athletes to gain invaluable experience with some of the best athletes in the world in their sports,” said Coates.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was also contacted for comment. A spokesperson said that as the AOC is a non-government body, the department “does not participate in its decision-making”. The spokesperson added that Australia had raised concerns during Turkmenistan’s last appearance before the United Nations’ human rights forum and would do so again at the next opportunity.

Preparations for the Games have coincided with further repression. HRW and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) have reported the mass demolition of homes as part of an urban renewal project, with no more than nominal compensation for residents. “The Games will last all of 10 days but people left with inadequate or no housing will suffer for years to come,” TIHR’s executive director, Farid Tuhbatillin, said recently.

Human rights groups have also observed renewed attempts to control public life. “We might have thought Turkmenistan could not get more repressive but, as these Games draw near, the government is tightening the screws even further,” says HRW’s Denber. “The government deeply fear what will happen when Turkmen come into contact with foreigners. They worry that the government’s secrets about how repressive it is and how poor the social conditions are will suddenly spill out. It is doing everything to prevent that from happening.”

Local sources have reported that Ashgabat has in effect been sealed off from the remainder of the country, with only public transport and taxis permitted to enter the city. “Raids to identify untrustworthy social elements have been launched,” said Tuhbatillin, a former political prisoner. “Police are detaining prostitutes, the homeless and those suffering from substance abuse.” Citizens with criminal records have reportedly been banned from going outside.

The Guardian, the Observer’s stablemate, was initially given accreditation to cover the Games but 11 days before the opening ceremony it was revoked on the grounds of “the overwhelming response”. Repeated requests to be reinstated went unanswered by the Games’ organisers while the intervention of the British embassy in Turkmenistan was unsuccessful. The Guardian is aware other international media outlets have had their accreditation revoked in similar circumstances.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and each participating National Olympic Committee are recognised by the IOC, whose charter requires the organisation to take “all necessary steps in order to ensure the fullest coverage by the different media”. Indeed last year the IOC introduced an online mechanism for journalists to report violations of press freedom.

Repeated requests have been made to the OCA as to how hosting the Games in Turkmenistan and the revocation of media accreditation were consistent with the charter, but received no response. An IOC spokesperson sought to shift responsibility: “The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games are an independent sporting event that does not fall under the jurisdiction of the IOC.”

Denber said: “HRW has sent five letters to the OCA since 2016, and it has not replied to a single one. The OCA is a member of the IOC and is obligated to uphold the principles of the Olympic Charter. Instead, by its silence, the OCA is accepting the complete perversion of the Olympic values.”

The intersection between sport and politics has a long history; the IOC founder, Pierre de Coubertin, hoped that the modern Games would improve political relations between states. While the IOC may profess that its events are free of political influence, recent Olympics in China and Brazil belied such claims. With football’s next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar respectively and Beijing hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics, sport is in a new era of politicisation – after almost three decades of relative post‑cold war neutrality. The attraction of these mega‑events to such nations is obvious.

“Turkmenistan is hosting these Games to boost its international prestige,” says HRW’s Denber. “Turkmenistan has been a closed country for many years and some in the government believe this will lead to international prestige, which may in turn improve the government’s domestic legitimacy.” The Turkmen exile Tuhbatillin said bluntly: “Any dictatorial regime wants to show the world its positive aspects.”

There may also be financial motives for Turkmenistan’s hosting of the Games. “In a highly corrupted regime, the construction of facilities for this sporting event constitutes a source of bribes for the Turkmen government,” says Professor Sebastien Peyrouse of George Washington University. “The preparation of these Games has been a new and considerable source of personal enrichment for the president and his entourage.” Several of the Games’ major infrastructure projects were awarded to a Turkish construction company with close ties to Berdymukhamedov.

With fewer countries interested in hosting such expensive events – witness the carefully staged-managed process that gave Paris and Los Angeles the 2024 and 2028 Olympics respectively – this may not be the last time Ashgabat hosts a major sporting extravaganza. The IOC and its brethren are increasingly desperate for wealthy nations willing to spend billions for little financial return, and trivial concerns such as human rights are becoming even less relevant.

As North Korea continues to fire rockets over Japan, its central Asian equivalent – the comparison is common – is staging a quirky sporting event that is less likely to register in the international consciousness. Even at higher profile events, such as the Qatar 2022 World Cup, reporting about human rights will eventually subside and attention switch to the pitch. While spectators remain transfixed by the sporting action, the IOC, OCA, Fifa and other opaque sporting institutions will continue to award their events to distasteful regimes.

“Every state has a degree of responsibility when it sends its representatives to a country where human rights are worth nothing,” implored the Turkmen activist Ruslan Myatiev. The IOC, too, must share the blame. Otherwise – 2032 Olympics in Ashgabat, anyone?

Consisting of vast swaths of desert between the Caspian Sea and borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran, Turkmenistan has long been a wild frontier. Turkmen tribes inflicting heavy defeats on Russian forces during the 1800s, and were the last of the Central Asian ethnicities to be brought under Moscow’s control. Until the end of the Soviet era in 1991, Turkmenistan was tightly governed by the central administration.

Newly independent Turkmenistan was ruled with an iron fist by Saparmurat Niyazov, who styled himself as Turkmenbashi (“father of the Turkmen”) and renamed the days of the week after relatives. While the isolationist Niyazov quickly developed an international reputation for his eccentricities, which ranged from installing a golden statue in his image that rotated with the sun to building a penguin sanctuary in the desert, his quirks obscured brutal repression.

Niyazov’s death in 2006 facilitated the rise of Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who acceded to the presidency early the following year. While observers were initially heartened by suggestions that Turkmenistan would shed its isolationist past, Berdymukhamedov has consolidated power and maintained the status quo. Turkmenistan’s appearances in international reporting remain largely limited to quirky stories, whether a new airport designed to handle 17 million passengers per year (annual visitor number in 2015 were just 105,000) or propaganda footage of Berdymukhamedov in his action man guise.

Despite Turkmenistan’s human rights record, it has largely been ignored by Western governments. “Turkmenistan (and Central Asia) is not a strategic region for the West,” said Professor Sebastien Peyrouse. “The impact of the limited foreign pressure that has been exerted is weakened by rival interests, particularly those seeking to develop economic relations with Turkmenistan.” The European Union is expected to soon ratify a partnership agreement with Turkmenistan, human rights record notwithstanding.
Turkmenistan bans the import of bikinis, shorts, and swimsuits.