25 January 2019 – Fonte: ©Bellingcat

Turkmenistan is among the world’s most repressive countries, and is largely closed off to the outside world. When it comes to press freedom, only North Korea and Eritrea are rated worse. The president and his associates have total control over all aspects of public life in Turkmenistan. Yet the country is nonetheless a major buyer of EU arms, with Italy supplying by far the biggest part.

We took a closer look at Italian arms deliveries to Turkmenistan — and traced a selection of arms despite the general lack transparency.

Read the article on Bellingcat website

Photo: The PX4 Storm pistol is seen while being fired during a training held in the desert in the vicinity of Turkmenbashi on August 10 2018 — a session headed by president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov himself (Source: State tv broadcast footage; Official Government statement):