Kazakhstan Prosecutor Opposes Deportation of 16-Year-Old Russian Teen

The teenager is appealing a court ruling ordering his deportation and imposing a five-year entry ban, Orda.kz reports, citing Uralskaya Nedelya.

On March 3, the Uralsk Prosecutor’s Office asked the appeals panel of the West Kazakhstan Regional Court to overturn the deportation order against 16-year-old Russian citizen Timur Turkov. Prosecutors told the court that expelling a minor from Kazakhstan and banning him from re-entering for five years contradicts the law.

Turkov entered Kazakhstan in early September last year. He crossed the border on foot near the Syrym checkpoint and then presented himself to border guards, saying he wanted to apply for refugee status. He explained that he left Russia because he disagreed with the country’s political course and feared that once he turned 18 he could be sent to war.

A criminal case was opened, and during the investigation Turkov was placed in the Center for Children in Need of Special Social Services in the village of Zachagansk.

In December, a court in Uralsk found Turkov guilty of illegally crossing the border, issued a fine, ordered his expulsion, and banned him from entering Kazakhstan for five years. With the support of Kazakhstani human rights activists and lawyer Aigul Orynbekova, Turkov appealed the decision.

Turkov’s grandmother, Valentina Turkova, traveled from Russia to attend the hearing. According to Orynbekova, she told the court that Timur would be at risk if he returned to Russia. She said she arrived on February 20 and has spoken with her grandson every day since then.

We talked every day. I learned from him why he left Russia. He has his own political beliefs. They go against ours. I really want him to come back home. But I have a dilemma — I’m torn. I feel he is in danger in Russia, even a danger to his life. On the other hand, if you leave him here, he’s a minor — how will he manage here?

Turkov, for his part, asked the court to remove him from his grandmother’s guardianship, saying she was acting “against my interests” and that he did not trust her.

The court adjourned the proceedings to consider the petitions.

Original author: Ruslan Loginov

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