Turkmenistan has reached out to the intelligence services of Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey for assistance in apprehending and repatriating Turkmen citizens engaged in producing counterfeit documents (for $5-6,000).
This request was discussed at the Security Council meeting on May 2, as reported by "Chronicles of Turkmenistan" with reference to a source.
According to the report of Turkmenistan's Ministry of National Security (MNB), there has been a sharp increase recently in the number of Turkmen citizens relocating from these countries to Europe.
If a person's passport is expired, and they were, for example, illegally in Turkey, or if they were denied a Schengen visa, they are tempted to turn to criminals, as otherwise, returning home, they would be blacklisted and banned from leaving again.
There are groups of Turkmen citizen intermediaries who, for $5-6,000, produce counterfeit documents and visas. The Turkmen side has provided lists of these individuals to their colleagues and requests their arrest and deportation to their homeland, as well as other individuals suspected of being involved in intermediary activities in producing forgeries and their clients.
Meanwhile, on May 3, Radio "Azatlyk" reported that, upon the government's directive, MNB employees do not allow citizens who have returned to renew their passports to leave the country, and border service employees create various problems for them at the airport and do not allow them on the plane.
Those who managed to leave the country reported that before departure, security services demanded that they not discuss the country's problems anywhere but rather praise it.
Those who were not allowed on flights turn to the Migration Service. In particular, queues have been noticed at the agency in Mary. People are dissatisfied that they were not allowed to leave the country despite having all the necessary documents and are trying to get an audience with the leadership, "Azatlyk" reports.
On social media, migrants are advised to obtain a certificate from the Migration Service in advance confirming that they have no violations and are not prohibited from leaving the country.
"Such a certificate is issued within about a month. Usually, it is needed for a person who has been deported before. But it is advisable for everyone to have it because even those who have not been deported are removed from flights," the publication cites advice from one of the social media users.
As always, the issue of leaving the country can be resolved with the help of a bribe, the amount of which is $2,500-3,000.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 10, 2024