After Tajiks, Uzbek citizens are also banned from entering Russia
In recent days, Russian border guards have been mass-prohibiting not only citizens of Tajikistan, but also immigrants from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from entering the territory of Russia at airports and ground crossing points. Human rights defender Valentina Chupik said that only a quarter of those detained are citizens of Tajikistan, two percent more are immigrants from Uzbekistan, and the rest are representatives of Kyrgyzstan.
In recent days, Russian border guards have been mass-barring not only citizens of Tajikistan, but also immigrants from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from entering the territory of Russia at airports and ground crossing points, writes Khabar.uz with reference to Exclusive.kz.
The ministries of foreign affairs of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have not yet commented on the situation.
Human rights activist Valentina Chupik said mass arrests of migrants at entry into the country began on April 24, and by May 1, about 4,500 people had been rounded up at Russian airports and the same number were denied entry through ground checkpoints.
The human rights defender said that only a quarter of those detained are citizens of Tajikistan, two percent more are immigrants from Uzbekistan, and the rest are representatives of Kyrgyzstan.
Most of those caught are "deported" within a day or two, but in some cases, deportations can take up to a week, Chupik said.
Since April 24, the human rights defender has received about two hundred appeals from migrants caught by border guards. According to them, people are left hungry and without water, they cannot even go to the toilet. Their phones have been confiscated and "no explanation will be given."
According to Chupik, there has never been such a massive expulsion of immigrants from Russia.
Only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan openly reported on the problems of migrants at checkpoints in Russia. On Saturday, the ministry recommended citizens of the country to "temporarily refrain from traveling to Russia unless it is absolutely necessary."
On Sunday, it was reported that 954 Tajik citizens were staying at the Vnukovo airport without adequate sanitary conditions.
On Monday, the Russian ambassador in Dushanbe was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a note of protest was presented in connection with "many cases of highly negative attitude towards citizens of Tajikistan" on the territory of Russia.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and spoke about the violation of the rights of the country's citizens and bilateral agreements. Lavrov said that "the measures taken are not against a particular nation."
At the moment, there are barriers to the entry of citizens of Uzbekistan into the country without any reason at the airports of Turkey. Videos of Uzbeks who have been stuck at the Istanbul airport for several days are circulating on social networks. Vice President of Turkey Javdat Yilmaz, who is in Uzbekistan to participate in the third Tashkent International Investment Forum, answered the questions of representatives of the Uzbek press.
"Yes, today we talked about all this with the relevant officials of Uzbekistan and our friends. Every country should focus on its own security. But while we are doing these activities, our compatriots and brothers should not face any problems. In this matter, the relevant officials talk to each other very closely, discuss these topics among themselves, and find answers to questions and complaints in a very short time," he said.
