Can journalists travel to Turkmenistan? The short answer is yes they can, but as an authoritarian state journalist travel to Turkmenistan is complicated and cannot be done freely.
To read about journalist travel to North Korea click here.
Journalist travel to Turkmenistan – what are the rules?
Journalists cannot travel as part of a group tour to Turkmenistan and must declare not only the job, but if they intend to do a journalistic piece about Turkmenistan.
The process for this is quite laborious and will involve the submitting of lots of documents. Essentially and in a similar fashion to North Korea the country do not wish there to be negative press about the country, or its leaders.
With that being said this does not mean you will lose creative license, but you should be aiming at more something akin to Michael Pailin in North Korea than anything by Vice.
Despite visa for journalists to travel to Turkmenistan being difficult, YPDR have the right connections to make it happen.
Guerrilla journalism in Turkmenistan
It is possible for bloggers, writers and documentary makers to travel on an independent tour to Turkmenistan and complete a project. In this respects we can judge on a case by case basis on what provisions should be made.
To read about Turkmenistan tours click here.
Keep in mind though that Turkmenistan has a very well functioning secret police and journalists who act suspicious will be watched.
Can meetings be arranged with government officials in Turkmenistan?
For those who go down the full official route we can arrange meetings with members of the government to varying degrees of importance – again it will depend greatly on your project and what you are trying to achieve in Turkmenistan.
On this front YPDR are happy to discuss your project with you.
Is it safe for journalists to travel to Turkmenistan?
Journalist travel to Turkmenistan is extremely safe, particularly if you go with the support of the government.
Cases of foreign journalists being arrested are extremely rare, but the political situation should be kept in mind with regards to how you behave in the country.
