Turkmenistan’s president fires chief prosecutor for failure to fulfill his duties, state media say

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Turkmenistan’s president fired the country’s chief prosecutor for failing to properly fulfill his duties, the official daily reported Wednesday.

President Serdar Berdymukhamedov announced the dismissal during Tuesday’s meeting of the State Security Council that reviewed the performance of the Central Asian country’s military and law enforcement structures.

Berdymukhamedov announced that he was firing Prosecutor General Serdar Myalikguliyev for “the failure to properly fulfill his duties and the low level of organization of the prosecutor’s office work,” according to the government daily Neutral Turkmenistan. He didn’t elaborate further.

Myalikguliyev was appointed in July 2022. He oversaw the investigation into illegal grain deals and a corrupt scheme of air ticket sales, among other high-profile cases

Begmurat Mukhamedov, who previously served as justice minister and then was elected to parliament and became the head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, succeeded Myalikguliyev, reported the daily.

Berdymukhamedov, 42, was elected in March 2022 to succeed his father, Gurbanguly, who had run the gas-rich country since 2006.

Turkmenistan has remained largely isolated under autocratic rulers since it became independent after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.