Turkmen President’s Great-Nephew Flown to Turkey by Air Ambulance

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s great-nephew left Ashgabat for Turkey in the evening of February 9 on board a private air ambulance, an informed source in the capital has told turkmen.news. The child, the grandson of the president’s sister, Gulnabat Dovletova, is reported to have swallowed something. His current condition is not known.

Turkmen.news has identified the plane, a Cessna 560 Citation V belonging to the company PanJet, which provides air ambulance services.

The Cessna left Turkmenistan incognito and did not turn on its transponders until it was over Baku. At that time it was flying at a height of 38,000 feet. It is common practice for Turkmenistan Airlines to turn off its transmitters, especially when it is carrying out “sensitive” flights for the close family and other relatives of the head of state. Perhaps the Turkmen authorities required the Turkish plane to do the same to avoid attention.

Gulnabat Dovletova, a powerful sister of the Turkmen president, is the executive director of the National Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan.

There are no scheduled passenger flights at present between Turkmenistan and the outside world. Citizens have to wait months for permission from the Foreign Ministry and migration service in order to leave the country on one of the few charter flights. People who do take these flights are usually leaving Turkmenistan for good.

Turkmen.news has previously reported that pandemic restrictions do not apply to the president’s relatives. In summer last year Berdimuhamedov’s nephew, Shamyrat Rejepov (the uncle of the child who has just been taken to Turkey) went on holiday to Bodrum.

At the end of last year another nephew, Hajymyrat Rejepov, flew on holiday with his family to Dubai, while the president’s daughters, both diplomats, flew from London and Dubai respectively to Turkmenistan for the New Year holiday.