"They nearly broke my arms": Tajik student deported from Russia

Muhammadjon Boyev is a second-year student at the Michurinsk State Agrarian University, where he enrolled in 2023.

In his letter, which he also plans to send to the Ambassador of Russia to Tajikistan, Semyon Grigoryev, he detailed the difficulties he faced.

"At the beginning of the 2024 academic year, the university administration told me that I needed to update my registration documents, which required me to cross the border.  On my way back, at the Almaty-Saratov customs checkpoint, I was detained and taken to some kind of holding cell.  They confiscated my passport and student ID.  I was kept there for three days, during which I was mocked, insulted, and beaten.  They brought some papers and tried to force me to sign them.  I didn’t sign anything, and they nearly broke my arms.  In the end, I signed one of the documents.  On the third day, I was given a paper stating that I was no longer allowed to stay in Russia, and I was sent back to Kazakhstan.  I barely made it back to Tajikistan," Muhammadjon writes.

In his appeal, he also requests the ambassador’s assistance in continuing his studies at the university.

Muhammadjon stated that he had contacted the Tajik Ministry of Education, but they referred him to the "Center for International Programs" under the Ministry, since he had enrolled at Michurinsk University through the "Durakhshandagon" presidential scholarship program.

Asia-Plus reached out to the "Center for International Programs" for comment. While they could not provide specific information about Boyev’s case, they noted that they had received five or six similar complaints from other students.

"Students mainly say that they were deported without grounds, and according to Russian authorities, they allegedly violated some laws," said the center’s director, Ramazon Safarzoda.

He added that students enrolled in Russian universities under the "Durakhshandagon" program who face such issues can seek assistance from the center, located at Dushanbe, 47 Mirzo Tursunzoda Street (near the "Poytakht" shopping center and "Spartak" stadium). Contact details: 223-23-59 / 221-23-97.

Meanwhile, Muhammadjon informed Asia-Plus that the center has responded to his inquiry, saying they could not help him with the issue.  He was advised to seek assistance from the Russian Embassy in Tajikistan.

It should be noted that Asia-Plus previously reported that some Tajik students have been unable to travel to Russia for their studies.