Turkey has canceled visa-free regime for citizens of Tajikistan holding ordinary foreign passports. This was stated in a decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The measure was taken based on the law on foreigners and international protection.
Erdogan, however, has not shown much respect for migrants before and deported them from the country at the first opportunity. The cancellation of visa-free regime for citizens of Tajikistan followed the terrorist attacks in Moscow.
The reasons for the decision are not specified, however, it may be related to both the detained individuals in connection with the case of the terrorist attack in "Crocus City", some of whom were in Turkey before the tragedy, and recent arrests of citizens of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan suspected of links with the banned terrorist organization ISIS and preparing a terrorist attack in Istanbul.
Moreover, according to the newspaper Hürriyet, two terrorists, who are natives of Tajikistan, visited Turkey shortly before the attack in "Crocus" - they are Shamsiddin Fariduni and Saidakrami Rachabalizoda. The latter arrived in Istanbul on January 5, 2024. According to the newspaper, they returned to Moscow together on the same plane on March 2.
As of April 5, 11 suspects in the "Crocus" attack have been arrested in Russia, most of them are citizens of Tajikistan. It was reported that nine more individuals involved in the attack were detained in Tajikistan itself.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 6, 2024