Russia 'rounds up Sochi migrants' - Human Rights Watch

(Moscow) – Russian authorities in Sochi have rounded up hundreds of migrant workers for alleged violations of migration or employment regulations. Many have been held in arbitrary and inhuman detention conditions. The detentions of migrant workers, many of whom worked on Olympic construction sites, come less than five months before Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Human rights advocates in Sochi told Human Rights Watch that since early September 2013, the authorities have raided workplaces, homes, and public places, and have detained hundreds, most of them migrant workers. Most appear to have been targeted because of their non-Slavic appearance. Police have held many of those detained in police station courtyards or overcrowded temporary holding cells. Most detainees were released after several hours, but some have been held for more than a week. In some cases they were denied access to a lawyer, and police denied they were being held in custody. Others have been expelled from the country, following perfunctory court hearings, without lawyers present.

The detentions continued during the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) final inspection visit to Sochi in late September.

(2013-10-04/hrw)