Overview: The Government of Turkmenistan continued efforts to improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism, ensure border security, and detect terrorist financing. Turkmenistan cooperated with international organizations and participated in trainings on preventing terrorist financing and strengthening border security. The government did not report any terrorist incidents, and authorities continued to maintain close surveillance of the population.

Although the government did not report any terrorist incidents in 2014, there were two incidents along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border on February 25 and May 24. In each incident, unknown persons from Afghanistan killed three Turkmen border guards on the Turkmen side of the border. The Government of Turkmenistan has blamed the incidents on misunderstandings over the use of common resources such as grazing land, but other reports attribute the incidents to narcotics-related activities or other criminal or insurgent activity.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The country's legal system as it pertains to counterterrorism centers on the 2003 counterterrorism law that defines which crimes are considered terrorist in nature. This law is supplemented by articles 271-273 of the criminal code, which pertain to terrorist acts and terrorist financing and are used to prosecute terrorism-related offenses.

The Ministries of National Security, Internal Affairs, and Defense, and the State Border, Customs, and Migration Services perform counterterrorism functions and share information through an interagency commission. The country's law enforcement capacity needs improvement, as law enforcement units do not proactively conduct investigations and have a poor record of accountability and respect for human rights. Prosecutors, however, do play a significant role in the investigation phase of a case, and specialized law enforcement units exist to conduct investigations. These units possess specialized equipment but usually only use the equipment for official ceremonies and demonstrations as opposed to daily operations.

Turkmenistan participated in training programs sponsored by the United States and international organizations, including a program on border security organized by the OSCE, a program on strategic export control regimes organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and U.S. government-provided training on combating transnational threats.

The State Border Service continued to operate frontier garrisons on Turkmenistan's borders with Iran and Afghanistan and managed eight radiation portal monitors along its borders provided by the Department of Energy through its Second Line of Defense program. The monitors can be used to help detect, deter, and prevent the dissemination of explosives and radioactive materials. The State Migration Service maintains a terrorist screening watchlist and possesses biometric screening capabilities at ports of entry.

There is significant political will in Turkmenistan to combat terrorism and ensure border security. Corruption, however, sometimes hampered effective law enforcement. Additionally, international cooperation with the government is often hampered by a bureaucracy that operates according to opaque rules and that frequently deems public information to be "state secrets."

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Turkmenistan is a member of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. Government officials participated in OSCE trainings on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). Turkmenistan continued to express interest in gaining admission to the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, and reiterated this interest at a September workshop organized by the UNODC. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) has a December 2011 bilateral agreement with the Ministry of Finance pertaining to AML/CFT. However, the OTA did not provide technical assistance to Turkmenistan in 2014. There were no reported prosecutions of terrorist financing cases during the year. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Turkmenistan supports regional and international efforts to fight terrorism. Law enforcement officials participated in OSCE and UN Office of Drugs and Crime trainings on border security. Turkmenistan continued to participate in the Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Center.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: Turkmenistan's law enforcement and security agencies exercise strict control over the population. The Turkmen government reportedly views conservative Islam with suspicion. Since the country's independence, mosques and Muslim clergy have been state-sponsored and financed. This level of government surveillance suggests that any violent extremist groups existing in Turkmenistan would be small, underground, and disparate. The severe curtailment of basic freedoms, growing economic inequality, an ideological void among young people, and the perception of corruption could cause people to be attracted to violent extremist ideologies, however. We refer you to the Department of State's Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/index.htm) for further information

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