Thread by @Marius_Fossum

In what appears to be a coordinated effort, #Russian authorities recently began rounding up and mass detaining Tajiks across the country. Photo: @RadioiOzodi

According to our sources, these recently launched police raids and detentions seem to single out migrants from #Tajikistan, leaving the rest of the Central Asian migration community largely untouched.

With its criminal war in Ukraine, the brutal nature of the Russian regime should come as a surprise to exactly no one: This video, shared by Tajik sources, reportedly shows Russian law enforcement brutalizing Tajik migrants during the ongoing crackdown.

The motivations behind the anti-Tajik crackdown seem unclear. As the crackdown mainly targets Tajiks, some see it as pressure from the Kremlin on Dushanbe – remittances from labor migration account for around 25% of Tajikistan’s GDP. rus.ozodi.org/a/32436478.html

Some Tajiks we talk to fear that many of these Tajiks, or many of them, will be sent to Ukraine to be used as cannon fodder in Russia’s criminal war campaign.

The Russian regime continuously demonstrates a blatant disregard for the sanctity of life, however, to the extent possible, Russian authorities prefer to sacrifice the lives of Russia’s ethnic minorities. foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/23/rus…

According to estimates, in excess of two million Tajiks reside in Russia. Most are migrant workers and seasonal workers – most are militarily aged males. payom.net/ru/mvd-rossii-…

The Tajik regime on its side was never one for protecting the rights of its citizens: The NHC has documented more than 450 cases of political imprisonment in recent years in Tajikistan, where torture and other gross human rights violations remain a systematic occurrence.

And now, as Russian authorities round up, brutalise and mass detain Tajiks, the Tajik diaspora complains that the Tajik state remains passive and is doing little to protect its citizens during the ongoing crackdown.

Continued failure from Tajik authorities to ensure the rights and basic human dignity of its large migrant-worker contingent, as well as the population at home, will only further erode the dwindling legitimacy of the regime in #Tajikistan.