In Krasnogorsk near Moscow, 50 Tajik citizens were detained, Radio Ozodi writes . According to the publication, the arrest took place on the morning of June 1 at one of the construction sites.
The publication notes that in recent days, such mass detentions have become more frequent in different regions of Russia – most of these incidents occurred in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Khabarovsk. Radio Ozodi also publishes videos showing how some people, sitting on their knees with their hands on the back of their heads, are kicked by the security forces.
“In recent days, arrests and ill-treatment of labor migrants have become more frequent in Russia. Every day, users send photos and videos and complain that, despite the fact that their documents are in order, the Russian police and special forces humiliatingly detain them and take them to the police station, ”the video description says.
On May 19 of this year, more than a hundred Tajik students of the state university in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Khabarovsk Territory) were beaten by Russian special forces. The students said that the riot police broke into the hostel without any warning and began to purposefully beat Tajik students. The Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow reported that 10 people were injured as a result of the actions of the riot police.
On May 29, a video was posted on social media showing Tajik migrants being escorted out of a school stadium in the Mozhaisk district of Moscow. They were accused of violating the rules of stay, petty hooliganism and disobeying the order of a police officer.
On May 30, security forces detained more than 150 Tajik migrants near the Mitino station in Moscow. According to the migrants, they worked at a construction site near the metro station and lived there in household trailers.
The Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Semyon Grigoriev, was summoned to the Tajik Foreign Ministry, where he was informed of his concern about the increased round-ups with beatings.
Group 24, an opposition group to the Tajik government, called the behavior of Russian law enforcement officers “cruel” and “inhuman” towards Tajik immigrants. At the same time, they criticized the "inaction" and "silence" of representatives of the government of Tajikistan in the face of these events.
“The authorities of Tajikistan, as always, do not take concrete measures to protect the rights of their citizens in Russia. They are so dependent on Putin that they can do nothing but express concern or request an investigation,” the Group 24 said in a statement.
The Russian authorities do not comment or explain the mass detentions of Tajik citizens. Independent political analyst Parviz Mullojanov says the campaign was likely launched to force Tajikistan to join the Eurasian Economic Union. He suggests that the issue was raised during the recent visit of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to Moscow to celebrate Victory Day.
“There have been no such planned and large-scale attacks since 2011. At that time, the case of Russian pilots was being considered in Tajikistan,” says Mullojanov.
According to him, in addition to Tajiks, citizens of other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) also lived in the areas where the detentions were made, but they were not attacked.