Raise funds for Enesh Azizova, Turkmen journalist

We were able to collect some cash of $10970 in Turkmenistan by 12.15.12. Enesh Azizova's lawyer received a visa for her at the Kazakh Embassy in Ashgabat. On 12.17.12 she departed from Turkmenistan to Almaty. Same day she was placed to the Central Military Hospital where she had operation. She is in stable condition in the critical care of the hospital, but we need to collect some more funds to continue her treatment. This time it is $6000 and we need to get it by Feb 3, 2013

**** Short history background of previous project ****

Turkmenistan is one of the most risky places for journalists in the world. Independent journalists are under constant surveillance, they are summoned to the national security agencies for questioning, and they face imprisonment or confinement in psychiatric clinics for their journalistic work. They are blacklisted, and their family members may be easily dismissed from their positions or expelled from schools.

A journalist from Balkanabat (former Nebit Dag), Turkmenistan, Enesh Azizova, 52, has worked with the cases of crimes against prisoners since 2002, and traveled extensively around Turkmenistan. Azizova has been threatened and harassed on several occasions because of her journalistic work. On May 9, 2011, prison officers detained Azizova in the village of Gyzyl Etrek. They interrogated her and kept her overnight in a basement of administrative building of Gyzyl Etrek prison. She is pensioner and disabled, has 6 children (2 underage) and 3 grandchildren.

On Nov 12, 2012 she filed several stories about fatal crash of a military bus, carrying an investigating commission consisting of high-ranking officers in Gum-dag, and her editor was summoned to a meeting with the committee of national security. Supposedly, in that meeting on Nov 13, 2012 KNB official indirectly threatened Azizova and the newspaper, warning the editor against publishing her articles in full.

Her friends and colleagues helped her to move to another region to her relatives, where she rested for some time taking care of herself, but on Dec 4, 2012 she decided to get back home, unwilling to burden her relatives.

On Dec 7, 2012, Enesh Azizova found lying unconscious in a pool of blood a few steps away of her house. Later it became known that she had three skull fractures after being attacked and battered by unknown persons.

The doctors induced a coma to keep her safe, because she was shaking her body as if she was experiencing the high voltage strike and she could injure herself.

She is in Central Hospital in Ashgabat now, but the doctors says that there will be no hope for her if she stays there. The best choice is to move her for treatment either to Moscow or to Almaty,where she could receive the better operation, therapy and care (which are approximately equal in cost).

We understand that there is a vague chance for her to get better without funding, as $14k-$15k is enormous amount of money for Turkmenistan to collect in such a short term – and this is only for the operation itself and intensive care.

The next our steps will be to help her to sell her premises in Balkanabat and relocate her to permanentresidence to Kyrgyzstan, where she has relatives that will assist her in her further treatment and adaptation.

We are very sorry that we can not offer perks at this very time, as we are in rush looking for the money. We may offer only our thanks and our prayers for all of you!

For more information please contact me at [email protected]

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