Mobile phone has become a source of danger for migrants

The mobile phone, which is the main means of communication for migrants with their families, has now turned into a source of danger for them and has even become, to some extent, their enemy.

Many migrants report to Radio Ozodi that after the terrorist attack in “Krokus,” Russian security forces are checking their phones and trying to find compromising materials.

When leaving for work abroad, migrants become somewhat dependent on smartphones. For them, the mobile phone is primarily a means of communication with their relatives and friends left at home, as well as a source of news from Tajikistan and around the world. With the help of the phone, they can exchange messages and make calls through messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook, send photos and videos, and use social networks. But now many migrants say that smartphones have become their enemies.

Now their phones are checked to see if they have watched videos and audio on religious topics in WhatsApp or Telegram, listened to speeches or news related to Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, and if such facts are discovered, it can become grounds for their deportation. If they have deleted the contents of their phones, or if they have a completely new phone or an old-style button phone, they are even more suspected and are likely to be subjected to interrogation, additional checks, and then deportation. And now migrants are asking themselves: what should they do with this “friend turned enemy,” should they take their phone with them or not.

The Migrant Media project spoke with several migrants whose smartphones became the reason for their expulsion from Russia.

Safo, one of our interlocutors, recounts: “They took my phone, and then they came and said that I was watching videos about the war with Ukraine. I told them that I don’t watch such videos at all, but then, when I looked at my phone, I saw that they themselves had made such a request in the YouTube search engine in English on my phone. I told them that they made the request themselves, that they deliberately set up a poor migrant knowing the consequences.” This migrant, who was deported by Russian border guards after his phone was checked, says that he only watched concerts, comedies, and Russian films on YouTube. Safo believes that Russian law enforcement intentionally downloaded videos about the war in Ukraine to his phone.

“They realized that I couldn’t write in English. And when I saw that they themselves typed the request in the search engine, and they told me that I was watching such things, I looked again at what was written in English. I started showing them my viewing history, and there was nothing about the war in Ukraine. I know that this is prohibited in Russia, so I didn’t watch it, and I have no interest in it,” says Safo.

Safo flew to Moscow from Dushanbe on June 8. At Domodedovo Airport, he and dozens of his fellow travelers were detained, their phones were confiscated for inspection, and then they were deported. Recently, hundreds of Tajik migrants have faced the same fate as Safo. Several people have already warned migrants on their Instagram and YouTube pages that such checks are being conducted in all regions of Russia. One migrant wrote on Instagram: “They ask for your phone code, open it, check the settings, look at WhatsApp and Telegram, browse through photos. They go into all the apps and check.”

Sayid, another migrant from Tajikistan, recounts that after his phone was checked, he was turned around and sent home from Domodedovo Airport. “I don’t know why, but we were sent back because of that phone,” the interlocutor says. Migrants report that it has come to the point where having or not having a phone, or having an old, button phone, can lead to a full search and even detention at Russian airports. “People with regular phones are detained until registration is completed, and some even miss their flights. Why don’t you have a phone, why do you have this one, there will be many questions. They start to check intensively, open all bags, pass them through the machine, and even use dogs to check for scent,” writes another migrant.

Such actions by Russian security forces raise questions among lawyers. Human rights defender Jamshid Yorov states that Russian police law only mentions the right of police officers to check documents. Phones, tablets, and other devices do not fall under this law and, therefore, are not subject to its provisions.

“Therefore, the demand to access migrants’ phones is illegal. Moreover, every procedural action must be conducted according to the same laws and procedures and in the same order. Inspections are conducted in the presence of witnesses, and a protocol must be drawn up. But Russian security forces do not do this. In Russia, the rights and freedoms of migrants are not respected, and the rights and freedoms of citizens from Central Asia are not recognized at all. These rights are violated everywhere,” notes Yorov. According to him, the police can check the contents of your phone and access your personal data only in two cases: if a criminal case has been initiated against you and the phone or other mobile device is considered evidence in the case, and the second case is if you voluntarily grant access and hand over your device to the authorities.

Jamshid Yorov advises labor migrants not to store information prohibited by law on their phones: “Communication with people whose conversations could be considered a crime, having prohibited recordings, and so on – this should not be on your phones.”