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The government of Turkmenistan is clamping down on student contacts with U.S. organizations, according to students in Ashgabat interviewed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmen Service Nov. 11.

The report claims school officials warned students not to visit or interact with U.S. organizations operating in Turkmenistan, including the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy, the U.S.-funded American Center and the International Research and Exchanges Board. Students were also reportedly discouraged from applying to a foreign exchange program run by the American Center known as FLEX. In addition, Turkmen university officials reportedly have denied students wishing to complete their postgraduate education in the United States school transcripts in English.

The Central Asian desert state of Turkmenistan has long kept itself insulated from the outside world. With a number of great powers eyeing the country’s vast energy reserves and a population deeply divided among warring clans, it is no wonder that the Turkmen police state is exceptionally paranoid when it comes to foreign organizations operating on its soil.