ASHGABAT — Former top Turkmen official Gurbanmukhammed Kasymov has reportedly died of COVID-19 as authorities continue to deny the presence of the coronavirus within the country’s borders.
Several separate sources close to the government told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that Kasymov, once one of the most influential politicians in Turkmenistan, died on September 2 in his native village on the outskirts of A