Kyrgyzstan Demands Clarification from Russia Following Bathhouse Raid on Kyrgyz Nationals

Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it had summoned the Russian ambassador to seek explanations regarding reports of police violence against Kyrgyz nationals during a raid on a bathhouse in Moscow last week.

Footage released on Saturday by a Kyrgyz lawmaker depicted masked individuals wearing red armbands forcing numerous semi-nude patrons to crawl and lie face down during the operation at a bath complex in northern Moscow.

According to eyewitness accounts provided to Kyrgyz-language media, these masked individuals assaulted some of the customers, confiscated their identification documents, and subjected them to humiliating treatment throughout the five-hour raid on Thursday evening.

One witness reported that when questioned about their aggressive tactics, a masked assailant responded, «We just don’t like you.»

The pro-Kremlin media outlet Tsargrad, without providing sources, claimed on Monday that the raid was prompted by complaints that the Kyrgyz-born owner of the bathhouse had allegedly prohibited ethnic Russians from entry.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry stated on Saturday that those depicted in the videos were taken to a police station for immigration inquiries. The following day, Kyrgyzstan’s Labor Ministry revealed that four out of the 24 detained Kyrgyz citizens had been deported, while the others were released.

The Foreign Ministry indicated it requested Russian Ambassador Sergei Vakunov, who is stationed in Bishkek, to clarify the legal justification for the raid and the use of force.

«We have called for effective measures to safeguard the rights of Kyrgyz Republic citizens and to prevent any harm to the Kyrgyz-Russian alliance and strategic partnership,» the ministry noted in a statement.

In response, Russia’s Interior Ministry later asserted that Moscow police behaved lawfully during the arrests made at the bathhouse.