Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report that there is almost no Internet access in Lebap velayat which was affected by the hurricane on 27 April, 2020.
In late April and early May residents of the velayat attributed the missing Internet connection to the consequences of the natural disaster, as a result of which “Turkmentelecom” facilities had been damaged. Later the signal did come through. However, there has been no Internet access in the past 10 to 12 days.
According to some Turkmenabat inhabitants, the signal is blocked by the special services which fear that the residents of the region might learn about acts of protest in support of residents affected by the natural disaster, which are being held by Turkmenistan nations in different countries.
Others assume that the Internet access is being restricted so that residents of Lebap refrain from uploading videos of the hurricane consequences on the Internet and sharing it with each other.
Journalists of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” in other regions also note that in the past two weeks many websites which could be logged into are currently inaccessible. These include websites and applications of privately-owned Turkmen companies.