Sweden Deports Son Of Turkmen Opposition Activist

Swedish authorities have deported Keymir Berdiev, the son of a long-time opposition activist, to Turkmenistan.

RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports that the plane with Berdiev on board landed in Ashgabat on the evening of May 20, but that his exact whereabouts were not immediately known.

Swedish authorities deported him because he was unable to provide sufficient documentation to prove that returning to his native Turkmenistan would place him in danger.

Berdiev's father and brother are linked to Turkmen opposition groups and, in the latter part of the 1990s, also worked for RFE/RL's Turkmen Service.

The Turkmen government has never been tolerant of, or kind to, political opponents or their family members.