The International Report
May 28th, 2022
Former Turkmen President Killed Mere Weeks After Transition of Power to Son
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ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN - Breaking news out of Turkmenistan this morning is a yet-unconfirmed report that former Turkmen President Usmon Murtazayev has been killed in an apparently violent demonstration outside a residential compound in Turkmenbashi late last night.
While no video was immediately available, social media images and posts from accounts associated with local opposition movements depicted the brutalised remains of an older male matching the former ruler's description. Police confirmed that after protesters stormed the compound, Usmon's security detail and another unidentified male were killed. Information available to TIR correspondents suggests he was brutally beaten, executed, and heaved atop the surrounding wall, finally being pulled down by citizens and responding police after the mob left the area. Details remain scarce as to the reason or nature of the former ruler's visit to this particular neighbourhood in the coastal city of Turkmenbashi, especially given the limited interaction he maintained as a ruler with those outside of the capital.
Image via VKontakte
Image via TelegramIf the images and social media information prove to be true, this marks a serious escalation in violence enacted by the people of Turkmenistan and is bound to increase tensions across the country. The former president is the father of the newly-elected Turkmen President, Stepan Murtazayev, who gained the presidency as the result of a quasi-election in mid-May following the former president's announcement of his intention to step down on April 25th.
No comment has yet been made from the Turkmen President or the state-run Turkmen National News (TNN) network, but given the former ruler's prominence as the immediate family of the current ruler, there are certain to be repercussions felt from his death that are not likely to be limited in scope to those responsible for last night's violence.
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