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Moscow enlists volunteer militia to clear city of illegal migrants
Every Friday, authorities plan to raid apartment buildings and workplaces
Maxim Tucker
Friday 18 October 2013
Moscow police will enlist the help of a volunteer militia to sweep the
streets for illegal migrants, police chief Anatoly Yakunin said today,
following the worst race riots in the city in years.
The riots were sparked when a man of Azerbaijani appearance stabbed to
death ethnic Russian Yegor Shcherbakov in the Biryulyovo district of
Moscow last Thursday as he was out walking with his girlfriend.
Russian authorities plan to hold operation 'Signal' every Friday,
raiding apartment buildings and workplaces known to be frequented by
immigrants across the city, particularly those from Azerbaijan and the
Caucasus region.
The enormous nature of the task will require "the entire apparatus of
the Central Office of Main Control, the office of Internal Control of
Administrative Districts, private security companies and voluntary
civil guards" Mr Yakunin said.
Azerbaijani nationalist group the "Karabakh Liberation Organisation'
have threatened retaliation against ethnic Russians living in
Azerbaijan.
According to Azerbaijani news portal "Haqqin.az", the group wrote to
the Russian Embassy in Baku stating that "If attacks on Azerbaijanis"
in Russia do not end, then "adequate measures" will be taken against
Russians living in Azerbaijan.
Their statement followed the release of footage which appears to show
handcuffed Azerbaijani citizen Orkhan Zeynalov being assaulted by
police officers before being transferred to pre-trial detention face
down in a police helicopter with a bag over his head.
Police appear to punch, kick and strike a bruised and bloody Mr
Zeynalov with police batons in full view of the camera crew, who are
allowed to accompany the suspect as he travels under an officer's feet
lying in the bottom of a police van, then in a police helicopter with
a bag over his head.
Mr Zeynalov was arrested on Tuesday, accused of Yegor Shcherbakov's
murder. In the video police appear to try to force Mr Zeynalov into
confessing to the camera as he lies in the grass. At a Moscow court
hearing on Thursday he told a judge police had arrested the wrong man.
Police later justified their actions by saying he had resisted arrest.
Yegor Shcherbakov's murder caused mass protests against non-Slavic
immigrants in Biryulyovo district, which quickly turned violent.
Participants broke into a local vegetable warehouse where many
immigrants work, trashing produce and brawling with police on the
streets outside.
Protesters blame immigrants for crime in the area and believe they
undercut the pay of Russian employees by working illegally.
Moscow based Azerbaijani film-maker and one time Presidential hopeful
Rustam Ibragimbekov said immigrants were in a "difficult situation".
"They [Russian authorities] carry this [immigration policy] out in
such a way that those coming to the country looking for work are
placed in a difficult situation. They have no opportunities, they live
in bad conditions and as a result crimes like this occur".
Rioting continued last Sunday, with angry protesters attempting to set
fire to a shopping mall and smashing windows. Some 380 people were
detained in relation to the disturbances as police battled to restore
order in the district.
Russian authorities seem eager to placate nationalist groups,
arresting over a thousand illegal immigrants in night-time raids on
Monday evening, and taking the unusual step of allowing national TV to
film and broadcast ill-treatment of Orkhan Zeynalov.
However, ethnic tensions continue to build in Biryulyovo, with Reuters
reporting Wednesday that police had found the body of an ethnic Uzbek
there, apparently killed in a race-related attack.
Moscow authorities have consequently banned a nationalist rally
planned for October 19 on the other side of Moscow, telling organisers
that under the circumstances police would not be able to guarantee the
safety of participants. The rally's organizer, Dmitry Dyomushkin, is
the former head of the 'Slavic Union' far-right group, banned in 2010
as an extremist organization.
The Azerbaijani government has yet to comment on Mr. Zeynalov's arrest
and treatment.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/moscow-enlists-volunteer-militia-to-clear-city-of-illegal-migrants-8890085.html
Every Friday, authorities plan to raid apartment buildings and workplaces
Maxim Tucker
Friday 18 October 2013
Moscow police will enlist the help of a volunteer militia to sweep the
streets for illegal migrants, police chief Anatoly Yakunin said today,
following the worst race riots in the city in years.
The riots were sparked when a man of Azerbaijani appearance stabbed to
death ethnic Russian Yegor Shcherbakov in the Biryulyovo district of
Moscow last Thursday as he was out walking with his girlfriend.
Russian authorities plan to hold operation 'Signal' every Friday,
raiding apartment buildings and workplaces known to be frequented by
immigrants across the city, particularly those from Azerbaijan and the
Caucasus region.
The enormous nature of the task will require "the entire apparatus of
the Central Office of Main Control, the office of Internal Control of
Administrative Districts, private security companies and voluntary
civil guards" Mr Yakunin said.
Azerbaijani nationalist group the "Karabakh Liberation Organisation'
have threatened retaliation against ethnic Russians living in
Azerbaijan.
According to Azerbaijani news portal "Haqqin.az", the group wrote to
the Russian Embassy in Baku stating that "If attacks on Azerbaijanis"
in Russia do not end, then "adequate measures" will be taken against
Russians living in Azerbaijan.
Their statement followed the release of footage which appears to show
handcuffed Azerbaijani citizen Orkhan Zeynalov being assaulted by
police officers before being transferred to pre-trial detention face
down in a police helicopter with a bag over his head.
Police appear to punch, kick and strike a bruised and bloody Mr
Zeynalov with police batons in full view of the camera crew, who are
allowed to accompany the suspect as he travels under an officer's feet
lying in the bottom of a police van, then in a police helicopter with
a bag over his head.
Mr Zeynalov was arrested on Tuesday, accused of Yegor Shcherbakov's
murder. In the video police appear to try to force Mr Zeynalov into
confessing to the camera as he lies in the grass. At a Moscow court
hearing on Thursday he told a judge police had arrested the wrong man.
Police later justified their actions by saying he had resisted arrest.
Yegor Shcherbakov's murder caused mass protests against non-Slavic
immigrants in Biryulyovo district, which quickly turned violent.
Participants broke into a local vegetable warehouse where many
immigrants work, trashing produce and brawling with police on the
streets outside.
Protesters blame immigrants for crime in the area and believe they
undercut the pay of Russian employees by working illegally.
Moscow based Azerbaijani film-maker and one time Presidential hopeful
Rustam Ibragimbekov said immigrants were in a "difficult situation".
"They [Russian authorities] carry this [immigration policy] out in
such a way that those coming to the country looking for work are
placed in a difficult situation. They have no opportunities, they live
in bad conditions and as a result crimes like this occur".
Rioting continued last Sunday, with angry protesters attempting to set
fire to a shopping mall and smashing windows. Some 380 people were
detained in relation to the disturbances as police battled to restore
order in the district.
Russian authorities seem eager to placate nationalist groups,
arresting over a thousand illegal immigrants in night-time raids on
Monday evening, and taking the unusual step of allowing national TV to
film and broadcast ill-treatment of Orkhan Zeynalov.
However, ethnic tensions continue to build in Biryulyovo, with Reuters
reporting Wednesday that police had found the body of an ethnic Uzbek
there, apparently killed in a race-related attack.
Moscow authorities have consequently banned a nationalist rally
planned for October 19 on the other side of Moscow, telling organisers
that under the circumstances police would not be able to guarantee the
safety of participants. The rally's organizer, Dmitry Dyomushkin, is
the former head of the 'Slavic Union' far-right group, banned in 2010
as an extremist organization.
The Azerbaijani government has yet to comment on Mr. Zeynalov's arrest
and treatment.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/moscow-enlists-volunteer-militia-to-clear-city-of-illegal-migrants-8890085.html