A Tajik citizen who has lived in Kosovo for more than 20 years is facing a deportation order from Kosovo for reasons that have not been officially disclosed.
Although local media reported that she is suspected of spying for Russia, Kosovo institutions are not allowed to disclose any information on the matter while she is currently detained in a detention camp for foreigners.
Her relatives in Tajikistan have confirmed that they have been in contact with her.
Sitora Atomamadova, a woman from Tajikistan who has been living in Kosovo for years, is being held in the detention center for foreigners in Vranidoll near Kosovo’s capital Pristina after receiving a deportation order from Kosovo.
This center is a special place for foreign citizens who, for one reason or another, are awaiting deportation or undergoing various checks by Kosovar institutions.
According to her lawyer, Atomamadova was arrested in early November after the Kosovar authorities rejected her application for citizenship and revoked her permanent residence permit in Kosovo.
On November 5, local media reported that Atomamadova is suspected of having links to Russian espionage, although there has been no official confirmation of this from the Kosovo authorities.
Radio Free Europe learned that the Tajik citizen was detained following the deportation order issued by Kosovo’s Ministry of Interior, which according to her lawyer Labinot Vata was issued without justification.
“The law gives the right not to give reasons (in the decision) if Kosovo’s security institutions consider that this poses a threat to Kosovo’s security,” Vata said.
However, according to him, “there is no evidence or proof that (the institutions) have informed us or at least informed us that it poses a threat to Kosovo’s security”.
He also added that Atomamadova has no open problems with the justice system in Kosovo. The main and special prosecutor’s offices in Pristina have also confirmed that no case is pending against her.
Atomamadova’s lawyer, Vata, said that he has appealed against the deportation order for Atomamadova and the revocation of her residence permit. He is currently waiting for the decision.
At the same time, Atomamadova has applied for asylum and is currently undergoing a review process by Kosovar institutions.
The Kosovo Ministry of Interior did not provide any further information on the case, nor did the Kosovo Police.
RFE/RL also contacted the Kosovo Intelligence Service, which by law carries out security checks on foreigners, and asked if it had issued a statement on the case, but received no response before the publication of this article.
Who is Sitora Atomamadova and what did she do in Kosovo?
Although she is not currently available for a live interview, her lawyer told RFE/RL that his client has been living in Kosovo since 2001.
He said that according to his client, she had worked or been engaged as a translator for reputable local and international organizations and had completed nursing training.
The organizations mentioned include the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the NATO peacekeeping mission (KFOR).
RFE/RL has contacted these institutions to confirm these allegations and is awaiting their response.
In addition, according to her lawyer, Atomamadova stated that the Ministry of Interior employed her several times as a translator for Afghan refugees in Kosovo.
“She worked as a translator, as a good speaker of different languages,” Vata said, adding that his client had been integrated into Kosovar society during those years.
The Tajik service of Radio Free Europe, known locally as Radio Ozodi, contacted Atomamadova’s family, who confirmed that she had been living in Kosovo for a long time.
Atomamadova was born in 1972 in the city of Khorog in Tajikistan and left her country in the early 2000s.
Her family claims she has no ties to Russia, although she visited the country ten years ago to meet her mother, who was visiting another family member.
Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union until independence in 1991.
However, the country faced a bitter civil war from 1992 to 1997 and has since been led by President Emomali Rahmon.
According to her family, she worked in Kosovo several times as a translator and even as an English teacher.
In recent years, six citizens of Tajikistan have been deported or extradited from various European countries.
This has increased in particular since Russia accused citizens of Tajikistan of the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow and there have been reports of Tajiks involved in terrorist attacks in Iran and Turkey and preparing such attacks in Germany.
Without exception, all deported or extradited Tajik nationals were sentenced to long prison terms.
According to the lawyer, the review process for Atomamadova’s asylum could take months.
In the period 2018-2022, 550 forced displacements were carried out from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.
Most of the remaining people came from Albania (80 percent), 9 percent were citizens of Serbia and 11 percent from other countries.
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