Russia to deport 15 Turkish carpet factory workers


15 Turkish nationals working at a Turkish carpet factory in the Russian town of Rostov who were detained Tuesday will be deported to Turkey following a court ruling, the Turkish company announced Thursday.Erdoğan Şeker, director-general of the carpet factory Merinos Russia, said in a statement that Russian officials and military units raided the factory and detained 15 workers Tuesday despite the fact that all of them had valid residency and work permits.Şeker said the workers is expected to spend 10-day waiting period in a deportation camp for before their deportation.Some Turkish workers were also called up from their homes to the factory and they were taken to an immigration office from there, the statement added. Computers belonging to the company were also confiscated."Our company is making efforts to use all legal means against the intimidation policy against our staff and company, and the unjust act that comes from the exaggerated reactions of Russian officials due to the latest political dispute between our two countries," the statement added.Since the downing of a Russian warplane that violated Turkey's airspace near the Syrian border on Nov. 24, Russia has announced a wide range of sanctions against Turkey.Among the sanctions imposed by Moscow is the end of a visa-free travel agreement between the two countries and a ban on Turkish food products. Russia has also called on its nationals to boycott Turkey as a tourist destination.