Pro-government media are mocking reports of devastating floods as Turkmenistan sets a new record: world's worst place to be a journalist.
One prime suspect is the intense industry upstream from Atyrau, which is just as famous for its oil as its fish.
Turkmen elites and Berdymukhamedov's friends prosper despite floods and shortages.
The detentions recall a larger wave of arrests in 2017; the European Court of Human Rights has recently begun inquiries into those arrests.