"Free Gaspar Matalaev – Victim of Forced Labor Monitoring in Turkmenistan", 20 March 2017

Gaspar Matalaev – resident of Turkmenabat...has been held in custody since October 5, 2016. In November the Turkmen court sentenced him to three years in prison on false “fraud” charges. The real reason behind his imprisonment is Matalaev’s involvement in the forced labor monitoring in Turkmenistan during cotton harvesting. Matalaev confessed to fraud under torture with electric shocks...Gaspar Matalaev (34) – one of the forced labor monitors of Alternative Turkmenistan News (ATN), was arrested at night on October 4, 2016. On assignment from ATN he repeatedly visited collection points and traveled to the cotton fields to interview doctors, teachers and other public sector workers forced topick cotton under threat of dismissal...We urge the Turkmen government to release Gaspar Matalaev. His only “guilt” was that he documented the use of forced labor in Turkmenistan – precisely what the government persistently hides, including from the ILO and foreign clothing companies.