Police in the western region of Balkan instructed community policing officers to inspect public toilets and private houses for evidence of people using newspapers, with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on them, to wipe themselves.

They were also told to look for soiled pictures of the president at landfill sites and at waste collection points.

“There is a special janitor at each landfill site whose job is to inspect garbage, to look for soiled newspaper photos, to establish the house or flat of the newspaper subscriber and to report it to the police,” Russian news website Fergana said.

People found guilty of soiling the president’s photo will be given a warning.

However, the Alternativnnyy Novosti Turkmenistana said Turkmens tend not to buy toilet paper.

“Why buy toilet papers if you have piles of newspapers which people in Turkmenistan are forced to subscribe to.”

It adds that it is difficult not to soil the president’s photos – since they dominate every newspaper.

The latest crackdown comes after children were reportedly detained for adding a moustache and beard to a picture of the autocratic leader.