His mother was hospitalized after a "conversation" with the police.
The story of Rozygeldy Choliyev gained notoriety after he was expelled from Russia last March after spending three weeks at Sheremetyevo Airport trying to get his asylum application processed. Currently, the activist is in one of the post-Soviet countries.
According to a source in Ashgabat, in early February 2022, Rozygeldi's parents were summoned to the city Police Department on the Zhitnikov street. Due to health problems, the activist's father was unable to attend the meeting. His mother, 62-year-old Ogulmaral Cholieva, went to the police. She was taken to an office, on the door of which there was a sign with the inscription “Captain Movlyamberdiev”. There were two men in the room: one in police uniform, the other in civilian clothes. The woman was told that the conversation would be about her son. Pointing to folders with documents, the policeman said: “You are a mother of many children, you have the right to receive an apartment with an improved layout in new buildings along Podvoisky and Sovetskaya streets. Your turn has come. But your son should stop criticizing the state and return to Turkmenistan. We give you our word that we will not delay him.”
Ogulmaral replied, “Leave us alone. We do not stand in line for an apartment. If my son has violated laws, let him answer according to the law. He is an adult, it's his own life. Then another employee started yelling at her that the authorities would still find the activist and return him to his homeland... Unable to withstand the pressure, Rozygeldi's mother lost consciousness. The police called an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital, accompanied by police lieutenant Ch. Begmyradov. However, several hospitals (in the districts of Bikrov, Berzengi, Gazhi, Khitrovka) refused to accept the woman. Finally, she was taken to the hospital named after S.Niyazov as allegedly sick with coronavirus. For a long time no one approached her. Ogulmaral's condition worsened. Medical assistance was provided only after the intervention of relatives. A few days later she was discharged from the hospital.
In 2020, Rozygeldi's father was already threatened with dismissal and confiscation of the apartment because of his son's Youtube videos. At the same time, the district police officer told his parents that upon his return to Turkmenistan, the blogger would be “imprisoned”.
An Ashgabat acquaintance of the Cholievs reports that the police are now considering the option of bringing the activist to criminal liability on trumped-up charges of "religious extremism."
Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
