OMON detained and beat migrants in Russia

On October 2, in Novosibirsk, OMON fighters stormed the warehouses of the online retailer Ozon, beating and detaining labor migrants.

In the published videos, OMON special forces can be seen breaking into the warehouses, detaining one migrant at the entrance, forcibly throwing him to the ground, and kicking him.

Other videos show the special forces brutally beating the detained migrants with fists and feet, dragging them, and gathering them in one place.

It is reported that more than a hundred Tajik labor migrants work at Ozon’s warehouses.

One eyewitness to the incident, speaking anonymously on October 3, told Radio Ozodi that the actions of the OMON fighters were “harsh and contrary to all acceptable norms,” and a decision has already been made to deport 16 of the detained migrants.

This is not the first case of mistreatment of migrants by Russian security forces. Almost daily, labor migrants, most of whom are from Central Asia, complain on social media about abuse, beatings, torture, and insults from Russian law enforcement officers.

However, so far neither the Russian authorities nor the authorities of the migrants’ countries of origin have responded to the unlawful actions of Russian security forces.

In the past year, the authorities of Tajikistan have already called on their citizens twice to refrain from traveling to Russia unless absolutely necessary.

After the bloody attack on “Krokus City Hall” and the hostage-taking at a Volgograd prison, Russian law enforcement agencies have further intensified control over Tajik citizens and tightened migration policy. In both cases, Russian authorities claim that citizens of Tajikistan were involved.

However, current complaints indicate that Russian security forces are detaining and deporting Tajik migrants for the slightest reasons.