Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report that Turkmen nationals who returned from or were deported from Turkey are subjected to interrogation.Migrant workers are detained in Ashgabat airport for several hours to find out why they travelled to Turkey, what they did there and what they are not satisfied with in their home country.
The interrogations, as a rule, are accompanied by threats.
Since early March there have been at least a dozen Turkmenistan nationals deported from Turkey on almost every flight of Turkmenistan’s Airlines from Istanbul. Turkmenistan’s Migration Office immediately includes them in the list of those barred from exiting the country for five years.
Apart from interrogations, for the past couple of months representatives of Turkmenistan’s special services have been forcing the deportees to sign a letter of commitment stating that they are obliged to cover the deportation costs within 10 days. They are handed a document with the bank details of Turkmenistan’s Airline Turkmenhowaýollary.
I have been left without a job and cash and I spent a few weeks in Istanbul’s temporary holding facility.Now I have to pay 150 dollars within 10 days.
Where would I get it from?says an outraged resident of the village of Gerogly (formerly, Takhta) from Dashoguz velayat who has been deported from Turkey.
He also told a correspondent of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” that he and a few other people were subjected to interrogation upon arrival in Ashgabat.People were kept at the airport for over 6 hours.
The special services staff summoned them in turn to find out and make notes of the details of their everyday life as Turkmen migrant workers in Turkey: what agencies a person contacted in search of a job, where he was employed and for how long, what his salary was and how much he spent on food and accommodation, how much he transferred to his family members in Turkmenistan and how he did it, when he was detained and under what circumstances, how long he was in custody, how many Turkmen nationals who are still working in Turkey does he know etc.
A potential connection with the overseas opposition or “hostile” websites and the availability of an account in social networks are raised during the interrogation. Following interrogations people were forced to sign a protocol and a letter of guarantee to cover their deportation expenses.
Mobile telephones were confiscated from everyone who was interrogated but later the phones were returned to their owners.According to a “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” interlocutor, the special services officers had folders on their desks with the names of those deported and the reasons for deportation in the Turkish language.
This implies that the information and documents are handed over to Turkmenistan by Turkey’s law enforcement authorities.Among the reasons given for the deportation are the violation of the visa regulations, missing documents, illegal employment and engaging in prostitution.
Migrant workers who are legally employed abroad are also subjected to interrogation.After going through the passport control procedure they are asked about the purpose of their trip.
A female migrant worker came to Turkmenistan to attend the wedding of a family member and she was sent for interrogation along with half of the passengers from the flight arriving at Ashgabat from Istanbul (the editorial board has the flight information and the place of residence of the female who was interrogated but the data is withheld for her security).
The questions were similar to those which were addressed to deportees. Moreover, migrant workers were asked to provide information on their diplomas, occupation, work experience in Turkmenistan and the reasons for leaving the country.
The questions were asked in a very arrogant and loud manner: “Why aren’t you willing to work and reside in your home country?What are you dissatisfied with?
and so on, the woman said.The passengers who had been interrogated were warned that they might face problems when returning to Istanbul.Their telephones were confiscated, checked and returned some time later. “The investigation procedure” at the airport lasted for eight hours.
Let us recall that a month ago “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” reported on the persecution of Turkmen migrant workers in Turkey.
In particular, Turkey’s police officers are detaining females on charges of prostitution.Additionally, the females had been detained on the streets or in their own houses rather than in restaurants or in brothels where prostitutes work.
In early April it became known that staff of Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Ankara were recruiting informants among students, who are supposed to monitor the behaviour of their fellow citizens and report any suspicious activity in exchange for recognition certificates and a financial bonus to their stipend.