ASHGABAT — An RFE/RL correspondent jailed in Turkmenistan has been freed under a presidential amnesty, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports.

Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this month after being found guilty of encouraging a relative’s suicide attempt.

Yazkuliyev’s family and supporters said the case was retaliation for his outspoken investigative reporting, including coverage of deadly explosions at a weapons depot near Ashgabat in July, which were downplayed by official media.

The trial and sentence drew widespread condemnation from media-rights groups including Paris-based Reporters Without Borders and the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, and prompted four senior U.S. senators to express their concern in a letter to the Turkmen ambassador in Washington.

An RFE/RL correspondent met Yazkuliyev after he was freed on October 26 and said he conveyed his gratitude to all those who had campaigned for his release.

In a statement, RFE/RL President Steve Korn welcomed Yazkuliyev’s release.

«But, while we are pleased that he is free, RFE/RL maintains that Mr. Yazkuliyev’s detention was invalid and deeply disturbing,» Korn added.

http://www.rferl.org/content/rferl_turkmen_correspondent_freed/24371889.html