DUSHANBE , January 24, Asia-Plus -- In 2005, 738 Tajiks citizens were deported to Tajikistan straight from Russian airports, and 436 others were not allowed to flight to Russia by Tajik border guards at Dushanbe airport, Asia-Plus has learned from Saidqadam Zohirov, aide to the Tajik transportation prosecutor. 

According to him, of those returned from the Russian airports, more than 400 people had earlier been deported from Russia and had no right to travel to Russia during five years.  “The others were returned because they had overdue passports or for other technical reasons,” the Asia-Plus interlocutor said, noting that many of those deported even did not know that they are prohibited from returning to the Russian Federation .  

“In order to avoid such situations, in the first half-year of 2005, we applied to Tajikistan’s Border Protection Committee and Foreign Ministry asking to resolve the issue of presentation by Russia of a list of the deported Tajik citizens at diplomatic level,” said Zohirov, “But have not yet received response to our letter.”

A damage caused by such problems to the Tajik State Air Company “Tojikiston” last year amounted to 140,000 U.S. dollars.  “Although those returned people were supposed to pay for coming back to Tajikistan by themselves they, however, paid only some 5 percent of a total amount,” Zohirov said.