Authorities in Moscow are detaining and deporting Chinese nationals for violating quarantine procedures the city government mandated in response to the coronavirus, according to court filings and a lawyer working on at least 15 cases.
Since the beginning of the year, as many as 79 Chinese people have been taken into custody and fined for leaving their place of residence during the 14-day self-quarantine period they were ordered to observe after returning from China, defense lawyer Sergei Malik told The Associated Press.
The majority have been deported from Russia, while 27 remain at Moscow's migrant detention facility awaiting deportation or rulings on appeals arguing the detentions were arbitrary, Malik said. About half of the Chinese nationals detained were university students, he said.
"Someone decided to target Chinese citizens," Malik said. "Our brave police were acting on someone's orders. No one was detaining Italians or Iranians. Just the Chinese."
"We can't get clear answers about what decisions are being made and what we should do...Instead, there are just hectic moves."