European Union

Remarks by EU's top diplomat on Friday clash with readout from European Council president

By CIVICUS
Oct 24 2025 (IPS)

 
CIVICUS speaks about the disappearance of Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov with human rights defender Diana Dadasheva from the civil movement DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan and with Gülala Hasanova, wife of Alisher Sahatov.

On 24 July, Turkmen activists Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov were abducted in Edirne, Turkey, after being labelled a ‘threat to public order.’ Despite applying for international protection, they were unlawfully deported to Turkmenistan. Orusov and Sahatov, prominent voices in the diaspora through their YouTube channel Erkin Garaýyş, are now being detained, starved and denied a fair trial, while authorities are deliberately delaying proceedings to exclude them from an upcoming amnesty. Their cases highlight the growing risks faced abroad by Turkmen activists, who are being targeted beyond their country’s borders. The international community must push to secure their immediate release and end such abuses.

What happened to Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov?

Abdulla Orusov and Alisher Sahatov are Turkmen civil activists and bloggers who reported on human rights violations, corruption, migrant issues and social hardships faced by people in Turkmenistan. They were among the few who dared to speak when most were forced into silence.

Last April, Turkish police came to their home under the pretext of checking their documents. Acting on Turkmenistan’s request, they detained both men on false terrorism charges, claiming they posed a threat to Turkey’s national security. They were taken to a deportation centre in Sinop and later transferred to Edirne.

The Turkish Supreme Court ruled that returning them to Turkmenistan would put their lives in danger and ordered an end to the deportation process. But on 24 July, immediately after their release, they disappeared. Reliable sources told us they had been secretly flown to Turkmenistan on a cargo plane, under the supervision of Officer Amangeldiyev Amangeldy, who was later awarded a medal for the operation.

To this day, we don’t know where they or in what condition. Their abduction is a serious crime and a blatant violation of international law.

Are there other examples of such human rights violations?

Over recent years, many Turkmen activists who were brave enough to speak up have disappeared in Turkey and Russia, including Malikberdy Allamyradov, Azat Isakov, Rovshen Klychev, Farhad Meymankuliev and Merdan Mukhammedov. Activist Umida Bekjanova is currently detained in a Turkish deportation centre and we fear she may face the same fate.

Turkmen authorities are carrying out a systematic campaign to eliminate independent civic voices. In today’s Turkmenistan, anyone who refuses to stay silent risks being branded a terrorist or enemy of the state. These labels have become tools of repression, used to justify abductions, fabricate criminal charges and force people to return to Turkmenistan.

What risks do Abdulla, Alisher and other activists face after being forcibly returned?

Their lives are in danger. We receive reports of torture, starvation, humiliation and psychological abuse. They are held in isolation, denied legal defence and a fair trial.

In Turkmenistan, there are no independent courts, lawyers or free media. People disappear into secret prisons for years, cut off from their families and the world. We don’t know where they are or if they are still alive. For their relatives and loved ones, this means endless waiting and despair, a slow, silent form of torture.

How has this affected your families?

Having my husband abducted has destroyed our lives. I am raising four children who ask every day when their father will return. We live in pain and fear, under constant surveillance and threats.

Being a Turkmen activist means facing harsh living conditions. Some, like Diana, live without documents or means of subsistence or social protection, caring for small children under the constant fear of being abducted.

Still, we refuse to stay silent; if we did, others would disappear too. Together with the DAYANÇ/Turkmenistan Human Rights Platform, we have declared a hunger strike until Abdullah and Alisher return home safely. We have also launched a campaign ‘If I Disappear – Don’t Stay Silent’ where we publicly name those who will be responsible if we too disappear. This is how we protect ourselves and our loved ones, because today it’s Abdulla and Alisher but tomorrow it could be any of us.

What do you expect from the international community?

The international community must act urgently to secure the release of Abdulla, Alisher and other disappeared activists. They must also demand Turkmenistan put an end to the criminal practice of labelling people as terrorists for simply speaking the truth.

But statements aren’t enough. We need real action. We call for an independent investigation into illegal deportations and abductions, and for those responsible for abductions, torture and repression, in Turkmenistan and Turkey, to be held accountable for their actions. We also demand the creation of a ‘Green Corridor’ for at-risk activists and families and the issuance of emergency documentation and financial support for migrants left without legal status and vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and recruitment by criminal networks or extremist groups.

The world has no right to remain silent or look away. The international community must stand with Turkmen activists deprived of their basic rights to identity, movement and freedom of expression. Their silence only empowers the perpetrators and fuels impunity. Every moment of inaction breaks another life. The international community must act now.

GET IN TOUCH
Twitter/Diana Dadasheva
Twitter/Gülala Hasanova

SEE ALSO
Forced loyalty, fear, and censorship: Turkmenistan’s relentless assault on civic freedoms CIVICUS Monitor 26.Jun.2025
Turkmenistan: tyranny mutates into dynasty CIVICUS Lens 18.Mar.2022
Turkmenistan: ‘There is nothing resembling real civil society – and no conditions for it to emerge’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Farid Tukhbatullin 10.Mar.2022

 

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The October II plenary session featured a formal address by Sergey Tihanovski and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, laureates of the 2020 Sakharov Prize, just after the announcement of the award of this year’s prize to imprisoned journalists, Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli. Members also debated the European Commission’s 2026 work programme and the preparations for the European Council meeting of 23 October 2025. Members held debates, inter alia, on the rule of law in Malta; intimidation of journalists; International Day for the Eradication of Poverty; policing’s central role in the EU’s internal security strategy; allegations of espionage by the Hungarian government; polarisation and repression in Serbia; combating violence against women and girls; and the anniversary of the DANA floods in Spain. Parliament also discussed the need for united support of Ukraine and for a just and durable peace; the use of Russian frozen assets; and ending energy imports from Russia.

Sakharov Price for Freedom of Thought

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Sergey Tihanovski – recently freed after five years of imprisonment for his political views and his defence of democracy in Belarus – made a formal address to Parliament. The 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was awarded to the Belarusian democratic opposition, led by Tsikhanouskaya following her husband’s imprisonment. Members debated the current situation in Belarus, where human rights have deteriorated since the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections.

2026 EU budget

Parliament debated and adopted amendments to the Council’s position on the draft EU budget for 2026. The EU borrowed heavily to support recovery after the COVID‑19 pandemic, and now needs to finance the repayments for the Next Generation EU instrument. At the same time, funding is urgently needed for the EU’s new competitiveness, research and defence priorities. The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) proposed to increase the 2026 budget for these priorities. The vote sets Parliament’s position for conciliation talks.

Discharge for the 2023 budget

In its role in ensuring the EU budget is spent according to the rules, Parliament again refused to grant budget discharge for 2023 to the European Council and the Council, criticising the Council’s continued refusal to cooperate. As for the postponed discharge for the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA), Members granted discharge to the agency for its 2023 accounts. while nevertheless noting criticism of its financial and general management and concerns about accountability at the agency

COP30 climate change conference in Brazil

In advance of the COP30 climate change conference in Brazil, Parliament adopted a resolution urging the parties to reaffirm their commitment to limit global warming to 1.5°C and a maximum of 2°C. To maintain this ambition, it recommends more frequent stocktakes. It regretted that the Council failed to agree an EU nationally determined contribution (NDC) before the deadline set by the United Nations.

Statute and funding of European political parties and foundations

Members adopted a provisional agreement on revising the rules regarding the statute and funding of European political parties and political foundations. Lengthy negotiations resulted in a text that reinforces safeguards against foreign interference and ensures financial stability, improving transparency and visibility.

New GDPR rules for cross-border cases

Members also adopted a provisional agreement on additional procedural rules for treating cross-border enforcement of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The text retains the proposed early-scoping exercise to speed consensus between supervisory authorities on cross-border GDPR cases, and new rules on hearing parties to the procedure. To settle issues quickly, an early resolution procedure and a simple cooperation procedure are also introduced.

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Members voted on Parliament’s position on a proposed forest monitoring law and to renew the standing EU expert group on forests and forestry. Parliament’s ENVI and Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) Committees, jointly, proposed to reject the proposed increased monitoring of forests and forestry activity, on the grounds that it duplicates existing systems and would increase red tape. However, the committees supported the continuation of the expert group, but would nevertheless clarify its role.

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To reduce reckless driving and impunity from disqualification for offences committed in other Member States, Members adopted a provisional agreement on EU-wide enforcement of driving disqualifications. The text aims at disqualifying drivers across the EU for drink-driving, speeding, drug-impaired driving, and conduct causing death or serious injury. The revised Driving Licences Directive would enable digital driving licences and an EU-wide accompanied driving scheme for young drivers. All professional drivers will have to undergo a medical check to obtain or renew a licence.

Soil monitoring and resilience

Healthy soils are the basis of most agricultural production, as well as providing carbon storage, yet EU soils are in poor condition. Parliament approved the agreement reached by the co-legislators on a proposed soil monitoring law that should ensure the good health of this essential element for life in the EU therefore stands. The new law would allow EU countries to support those who work on the land, with flexibility to take account of local conditions. It also addresses contamination, notably pollutants such as pesticides and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and requests a public register of contaminated sites within 10 years.

Microplastic pollution from plastic pellet loses

Microplastic pollution has reached much of our environment, from the sea to our own bodies. Parliament approved the agreement reached between the co-legislators on proposed action to halt the loss of plastic pellets that contribute to this pollution, especially at sea. Parliament’s negotiators have succeeded in imposing pictograms and warning statements when handling plastic pellets, and the agreement sets penalties for endangering people’s health.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

A decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations on phasing out Russian natural gas imports and improving monitoring of potential energy dependencies was approved without vote. A second decision, from the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee on corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, was rejected by Parliament, and will be placed on the agenda of the November I part-session.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Plenary round-up – October II 2025‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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