Ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova appealed to her Russian counterpart Tatyana Moskalkova about the abuse of Uzbek migrant workers in Yekaterinburg, her spokesman said on January 22.
The appeal contains a request to ensure the labor rights of Uzbek nationals in Russia.
On January 17, officers of the prosecutor's office of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Yekaterinburg, the FSB department for the Sverdlovsk region, the regional department for migration and the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Yekaterinburg, with the force support of employees of the Russian Guard, conducted a raid on one of the construction sites.
A total of 150 people were checked. Of these, eight people were found to have violated immigration laws and are now subject to deportation. Four men who had not registered with the military (according to some sources, they have Russian citizenship) were given summonses.
Photos and videos that appeared on the Internet show that security forces forced migrant workers to move in single file across a snow-covered construction site.
It is not specified how many of the migrants were citizens of Uzbekistan. It is known that there were also citizens of Kyrgyzstan and, possibly, other countries.
Ombudsman of the Sverdlovsk region Tatyana Merzlyakova told URA.RU said that she was studying the situation. “It’s generally hard for me to believe this,” she noted, adding that such a case is not typical for Yekaterinburg.
A statement from the Office of the Ombudsman of Uzbekistan states that in 2023, Feruza Eshmatova visited Russia and met, among other things, with fellow countrymen working there.
“Based on the opinions of our compatriots, cooperation will be established between the ombudsmen of Uzbekistan and Russia and work will be carried out to jointly consider appeals, as well as ensure the rights of fellow citizens working in the territory of the Russian Federation,” the message says.
Previously, the Ombudsman of Uzbekistan responded to the situation related to raids on the places of work of Uzbek migrants in Krasnodar. The Russian Ombudsman reported that she was conducting monitoring to ensure the rights of migrants, the office of the Ombudsman of Uzbekistan underscored.
