According to the wife of one of those detained in the Ankara-Chankyry deportation center: “After the fire , most of the migrants were transferred to other centers, in particular to the city of Van. It is known that there are no citizens of Turkmenistan among the displaced persons.”

In recent days, checks on illegal immigrants and migrants have intensified in Istanbul and a number of Turkish cities. Migrant workers (including citizens of Turkmenistan) detained during police raids in their areas of concentrated residence are transported by bus to deportation centers. Among them there are persons who received temporary protection documents and violated the rules of residence. (According to the Law, such persons do not have the right to be outside the locality where they are registered).

Turkmen citizens detained by the police and sent to deportation centers face indifference from Turkmen consular officials, their relatives tell human rights activists. “When we call the Turkmenistan consulate in Istanbul for help, no one answers the phone.”

Some people manage to get through: “We are told that the person in charge is not there today, call another day, at another time. And when we call on the appointed day, there is again supposedly no person in charge and they do not provide us with any help.”

The number of requests from migrants to us has also increased, especially those who do not have a passport or have one, but an old one. To obtain a biometric passport directly in Turkmenistan (as advised by employees of Turkmen consulates abroad), they must have an exit certificate and then buy an air ticket based on it. In turn, this requires the assistance of consular officials. Unfortunately, “our questions and requests to consulate employees remain unanswered,” Turkmen citizens who have lost their documents and holders of old-style passports told us.

Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights