Dear John,

Gaspar Matalaev, recipient of ILRF’s 2019 Labor Rights Defender Award, was released from prison on September 6 after three years’ imprisonment in retaliation for his reporting on forced labor in Turkmenistan’s cotton fields. A court in Turkmenabat sentenced Gaspar on spurious charges of fraud in 2016 and he served the entire three-year sentence. Gaspar was subjected to torture and periods of incommunicado detention.

More than 100,000 people signed a petition ([link removed]) calling on the government of Turkmenistan to release Gaspar. The Cotton Campaign, housed at ILRF, led demonstrations in front of the United Nations during President Berdimuhamedow’s visit for the UN General Assembly and at the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Washington, DC to deliver the petition.

Turkmenistan, one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world, uses systematic forced labor to harvest cotton. This year’s cotton harvest in Turkmenistan has already begun and ILRF’s partner, turkmen.news, is reporting that the government is continuing to force civil servants, including teachers and healthcare workers, to pick cotton or pay for a replacement picker.

Read turkmen.news reports on forced labor in Turkmenistan’s cotton harvest this month: [link removed]

Although US Customs has prohibited the import of all goods made with cotton from Turkmenistan, it still finds its way into markets in the US and Europe. That is why the Cotton Campaign is urging companies, as a first step, to sign the Turkmen Cotton Pledge ([link removed]), committing to not knowingly sourcing Turkmen cotton. Seventy major apparel and home textiles brands have now signed the Pledge.

Thank you to everyone who joined the call for freedom for Gaspar. With your support ([link removed]), ILRF will continue to stand in solidarity with labor rights defenders facing unsubstantiated and politically-motivated charges.

In solidarity,

Judy Gearhart
Executive Director

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Please consider joining ILRF as a monthly donor to help sustain our ability to stand with labor rights defenders around the world: [link removed]

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