Current Time says natives of Central Asian countries and other foreigners serving their jail terms in Russian prisons and penal colonies continue to report being forced en masse to sign contracts and go to war with Ukraine. Particular pressure is being applied to young men whose sentences are nearing completion.
Current Time was reportedly contacted by a man from Tajikistan named Jovhid, who is serving a jail term in a Russian penal colony. According to him, he is 32 years old and was sentenced to seven years in Russia, with only seven months left to serve.
Jovhid spoke about fellow inmates from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan who are serving sentences with him in a high-security penal colony near Moscow, emphasizing that people are in a critical situation. They do not want to go to war but can no longer endure the conditions created for them in the colony.
Jovhid explained that Tajik and other foreign prisoners are being forced to renounce their country's citizenship and apply for Russian citizenship — simultaneously with signing a contract for military service.
A group of migrant prisoners from the penal colony where Jovhid is held recently wrote a letter to the Current Time editorial office. They claim that the facility houses around 400 inmates from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Prison guards treat them harshly and insult them based on their religion. They also incite Russian citizens among the inmates to beat the migrant prisoners.
The foreign inmates also reported that the prison uniforms provided by the colony are confiscated by guards and burned, making life in prison unbearable.
“Rumor has it that those who go to war die on the second or third day. Everyone dies,” Jovhid said about those who were recruited. “Please report this in your media so that some official reacts to it. People are being forcibly taken from prisons to the war!”
Jovhid noted that guards are putting particular pressure on young prisoners who are nearing the end of their sentences.
The Migrant.Media project sent an appeal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan and informed official bodies about the condition of Tajik prisoners in Russian penal colonies. So far, there has been no official response from the authorities.
The forced sending of prisoners to war has been practiced by Russian authorities since the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine. Initially, it was carried out by the Wagner Group, whose recruiters promised prisoners freedom after six months of participation in military actions. Now recruitment is reportedly carried out through the Russian Ministry of Defense, and these conditions no longer exist: prisoners are sent to the front indefinitely, until the war ends.
According to Current Time, Russian and Ukrainian media have reported the deaths of tens of thousands of prisoners during the assault on Bakhmut. During that period, the bodies of many Tajik citizens who had been serving sentences in Russian colonies were returned to Tajikistan.
