THE TAJIK PILGRIMS DEPORTED FROM SAUDI ARABIA ARE IN TURKEY

              Istanbul, December, 9th. (Katerina Aksakova, Olga Saprykina, the NIAT "Khovar"). — The Tadjik pilgrims deported from Saudi Arabia are at this moment in the Turkish city of Istanbul. As the correspondent of the NIAT "Khovar" in Turkey was informed in the embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Turkish Republic, 82 citizens of Tajikistan tried to drive in the city of Jidda under false visas to make pilgrimage in sacred places. "Already at the airport of the city they have been detained and have been sent back", have been noted in the embassy.            According to pilgrims, they have received visas through private persons. "On November, 22nd our group of 200 persons headed by persons who made our documents, left from Dushanbe for Istanbul and from there we have gone to Saudi Arabia. — the deported Tajik pilgrims told, — Without any problems we passed Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Problems have appeared on border of Jordan and Saudi Arabia where we have not been allowed to go further, declaring, that visas are intended for entrance only by air". "Nobody of us has not been informed that they were false", — pilgrims said.             Having returned again to Syria, in the city of Damascus, all group of the Tajik citizens, wishing to make Hajj, has bought tickets on Jidda. They flied not in group, but in parts, by different flights. As the result of it, according to eyewitnesses, there only 118 pilgrims from 200 persons could pass passport control in the airport of Jidda, others 82 persons have been sent back in Damascus because of false visas.            After the departure in Damascus the Tajik citizens have reached border of Syria and Turkey. They have stopped in 20 km from the frontier of the Turkish city of Hatay in the village Ovakent where the Afghani refugees make 95 % of population.            Pilgrims from Tajikistan have stayed in village Ovakent 5 days where all this time local residents gave them habitation and meal. In the embassy of Tajikistan in Turkey noticed, that about happened they have known in Tajikistan from relatives of the deported pilgrims. Immediately in the embassy the special staff has been formed where the question on reboard of all pilgrims at first in Istanbul and then at home in Tajikistan was operatively solved.             That on the place really estimate situation, the first secretary of the embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Turkish Republic Safar Safarov has left for Hatay. In the morning on December, 8th 76 pilgrims have been forwarded in Istanbul where have been placed in hotel "Gunes", others 6 persons have left earlier. This very day the trip of all sights of the tourist centre of Turkey has been organized for all pilgrims.             The Tajik pilgrims have visited the greatest and the most beautiful mosque of Istanbul Sultanahmet which also is called also as the Blue Mosque where celebratory namaz have been made. The embassy also has noticed that today all 82 pilgrims from Tajikistan, deported of Saudi Arabia, will be sent home by flight of the Tajik airlines Istanbul-Dushanbe.