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Department chief of Interior Ministry: Most of the unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan are the citizens of China and Pakistan

10 February 2010 13:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Hafiz Heydarov â€“ APA. APAâ€™s interview with chief of Department to Combat Illegal Migration of Azerbaijani Interior Ministryâ€™s Passport and Registration Office, police colonel Ali Mardanov

-Special measures are being taken in connection with the unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan. How many unregistered foreigners were deported from the country last year?

-There were 780 unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan in 2009. 606 of them were deported from the country. The others were fined in accordance with the Code of Administrative Violations and released. Over 200 unregistered foreigners were deported from the country in the first two months of 2010.

-Which countryâ€™s citizens are most among the unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan?

-Most of the unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan are the citizens of China and Pakistan. There are also citizens of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey among them. Most of those who do not want to leave Azerbaijan after their registration period expires are from the countries having problems. For example, the citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The citizens of these countries do not want to return because of war.

-The Interior Ministry has recently rendered harmless organized gang of foreigners that committed grave crimes in Azerbaijan. Are there unregistered foreigners in Azerbaijan who committed crimes in their countries?

-Yes, there are. We have revealed such facts. They were detained and handed over to their countries. It has been determined recently that the person, who committed grave crime in Serbia, was living illegally in Azerbaijan. There also were such facts concerning the citizens of China. Generally, such facts are often recorded.

-Some nongovernmental organizations in Azerbaijan claim that the detention of the foreigners by the police is illegal.

-Can the foreigners illegally living in the country be detained by police or deported according to the Azerbaijani legislature?

- According to Azerbaijanâ€™s Code of Administrative Violations, the foreigners living without registration or not having citizenship can be detained by police. They can be arrested for three days by the court decision if they have non identification documents. The Administrative Violations Code says that the foreigners illegally living in Azerbaijan can be fined 300-400 AZN and deported from the country. The Interior Ministry and State Migration Service were commissioned to fulfill this decision approved by the parliament. The Interior Ministry and State Migration Service are carrying out joint measures to identify the foreigners illegally living and not having appropriate documents. These measures are regulated by the Azerbaijani legislature. According to the legislature, the Interior Ministry and State Migration Service can pass decisions about deportation of the illegally living foreigners. This is an issue under the direct authority of the Interior Ministry. If there is a probability to disappear, illegally living foreigner can be detained in the isolator for illegal migrants until the fulfillment of the deportation decision. Those foreigners are banned for five years to arrive in Azerbaijan.

-What conditions are the illegally living foreigners detained by police?

-They are detained under the serious control in the isolators of the Interior Ministry allocated for the illegal migrants until the deportation. They are provided with necessary means and foods. The government allocated resources for their travel expenditures during the deportation.