Tajik Labor Minister Gulnora Hasanzoda said on August 6 that Russia had deported 17,000 Tajik citizens over the past six months, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported.
According to Hasanzoda, the deportations have been mostly linked to violations of Russian law. Last month, Tajik officials said some 3,400 Tajik migrant workers had been returned to Tajikistan from Russian airports in the previous six months.
Since Russia arrested several Tajik nationals suspected of being involved in a terrorist attack near Moscow in late March that left more than 140 people dead, Tajik migrant workers have faced increased restrictions inside Russia and when traveling to Russia.
