Exclusive: Turkmen Ambassador’s Family Seek Asylum in France

The wife and daughter of Turkmenistan’s ambassador to France, Shohrat Jumayev, have applied for political asylum, an informed source has told turkmen.news.

The French press reported earlier that Jumayev’s wife contacted the police in mid-May. She said that her husband beat her and their 19-year-old daughter. These reports were denied at the embassy.

Another turkmen.news source close to diplomatic circles has also heard that the ambassador’s family have applied for political asylum, but says that he cannot yet confirm the reports. According to his information, the asylum application was made “recently.”

Turkmen.news backgrounder: Shohrat Durdykulievich Jumayev was first mentioned in the press as Turkmenistan’s consul in Turkey. Then in 2008 he was appointed ambassador to Armenia. In 2010 he was appointed ambassador to Romania, and in 2013 became ambassador to Croatia at the same time. At the end of 2018 Jumayev became ambassador to France and to Portugal. In May 2019 he was also appointed Turkmenistan’s permanent representative to UNESCO.