Deputy of the State Duma responded to the statement of the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan

“Migrants in Russia are an internal matter for the country, which has the right to protect itself from their endless flow,” said State Duma deputy Alexander Borodai to the media.

“Frankly speaking, there is nothing to discuss here; Russia has the right to protect its territory and its own way of life from the endless flow of migrants. And the fact that some Tajik diplomat comments on this negatively, honestly, we don’t care. This is our business, not his,” emphasized Borodai.

This was his reaction to the words of the head of the information and press department of the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shohin Samadi.

Earlier, Shohin Samadi expressed concern over the mass detentions of Tajik migrants in Russia.

In the past month, law enforcement agencies in Russia have begun to detain, beat, and transport Tajik labor migrants in large numbers under various pretexts to unknown locations.

Daily, videos are circulated on social media showing Russian law enforcement officials treating citizens of Tajikistan brutally.

In light of the unlawful actions of Russian law enforcement agencies, the authorities of Tajikistan, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Ombudsman, and the Attorney General of Tajikistan, have reached out to their Russian counterparts, sent letters, and called for investigations into the incidents involving Tajik labor migrants. However, the pressure from Russian law enforcement on migrants has intensified even further.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived for an official two-day visit to Dushanbe and met with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, who emphasized the need to “respect the basic rights and freedoms of Tajik citizens on Russian territory during inspections.”

However, after this meeting and the demands of the Tajik Foreign Minister, waves of mass detentions and interrogations of Tajik migrants have spread to other Russian cities.

Experts believe that Russian law enforcement agencies are exerting pressure on migrants to force Tajikistan to join the EAEU.