Turkmen journalist Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for allegedly encouraging a relative’s suicide attempt. Observers believe the sentence may be retaliation for his investigative journalism.

In July this year, Yazkuliyev was one of the first journalists in the country to cover a series of devastating blasts at a weapons depot in the Turkmen town of Abadan, near the country’s capital. RFE/RL reported that tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated, as many homes and other structures were burnt down or damaged by the 7 July explosions. Yazkuliyev’s article stated that hundreds of people were killed by the blasts according to an eyewitness report. The Turkmen government, however, said that only 15 people died.

Following the publication of the article, on 14 July, Yazkuliyev was summoned by police and accused of “slandering and disseminating provocative information” regarding the Abadan blasts, RFE/RL reported. Yazkuliyev said he was warned by a police officer that if he was summoned again in connection with his reports, he would be charged with “disseminating defamatory information through the media” and “causing national, social, and religious provocations”.

“We are appalled by this sentence, which appears to be solely aimed at silencing a journalist who has exposed issues of public interest,” said IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills. “We urge the government of Turkmenistan to immediately release Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev.”

A former Soviet republic, Turkmenistan has been independent since 1991. Although theoretically a democracy, Turkmenistan is an authoritarian one-party state and the government maintains absolute dominance over all media outlets and all printing presses in the country.