Yesterday, August 23, Yakutjan Babajanova flew out of Turkmenistan for a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia via Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

Her daughter Hamida Babajanova, a migrant from Turkey, told the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights: “We managed to break through the blank wall that the authorities erected by forbidding my mother this spring to fulfill her lifelong dream – pilgrimage to holy places. Thanks to our persistent demands, the Turkmen authorities did not put up obstacles for her at the airport this time, and she managed to fly out of the country.”

Recall that on April 3, 2023, Yakutjan Babajanova, 73 years old, was not allowed to fly out of Turkmenistan as part of a group of pilgrims to perform a small pilgrimage "Umra". Despite the purchased ticket, paid taxes, the availability of the necessary documents, the woman was not allowed to board the Ashgabat-Istanbul flight. From Istanbul, the group was supposed to go to Saudi Arabia.

After that, relatives of Yakutjan Babajanova went to the migration service. There they were promised that the elderly woman would be “allowed to fly out on April 23rd”.

But on April 23, the woman did not manage to fly out of the country. The relatives of the elderly woman did not put up with this outrage and, through human rights activists, turned to international organizations.

Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights