Rights defenders wait for verification of information about Tajikistan residents enslaved in Rostov Region

It is suspected that one of the farms of the Semikarakorsk District of the Rostov Region may use slaves' labour. According to Anna Udyarova, a lawyer of the Anti-Discrimination Centre "Memorial", this information arrived to the "hotline" of the Centre in Moscow. Then, rights defenders addressed the Prosecutor's Office of the Rostov Region, where they were promised to report results of the check on September 19.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Anna Udyarova that the "hotline" telephone in Moscow received a call from a certain Mukhamadjon, who told that some organization in the Semikarakorsk District of the Rostov Region, engaged in agricultural business, keeps about 150 Tajik citizens to work in the field.

"Back in Tajikistan, a certain Zukhra Yusupova had promised them employment in Russia for 15,000 roubles per month with accommodation and meals. Mukhamadjon himself arrived on August 21 this year; others came even earlier. All foreign citizens are gathering crops; they all live in barracks and fed poorly. At the same time, they were deprived of their passports, while requests to return documents are responded by demands to pay some money," said Ms Udyarova.

Mukhamadjon told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he and his fellow citizens live in a hostel, for which they do not pay. "They give us food, but I've worked for a month now, but they don't pay and say nothing. Other citizens of Tajikistan, and there are about 150 of them with me, are gathering crops in the fields for much longer, some of them for a year. During the year, they received only about 20,000 roubles. They are paid no salary; and they can't get their passports back," said the man.

As noted by Anna Udyarova, it was clear from Mukhamadjon's story that this was slave labour, which is banned by many international conventions and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. "Although such cases are not uncommon; for example, quite recently such slavery was detected in the Krasnodar Territory. But there people were deprived not only of their passports, but also of mobile phones; therefore, receiving such calls was unrealistic," said the lawyer.

So far, the "Caucasian Knot" has no comments from the Prosecutor's Offices of the Rostov Region and the Semikarakorsk District on the progress in the inquiry.