A Chinese influencer has told how he and his friends were denied entry to Russia after being questioned for over four hours by border guards who he claimed treated them like criminals.
The influencer, known as Jin Wenxin, said he and his four friends, who were not named, tried to drive across the border during a road trip from Kazakhstan to Russia on 6th August.
But Russian authorities denied them entry after Jin claimed they searched their luggage three times and questioned them for over four hours.
Jin said: “After we were denied entry, they demanded to take our fingerprints and photos, which made us feel like criminals.”
They were forced to go back 10 minutes later after refusing to do.
The group reportedly had plans to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia, then Turkey and had obtained all the necessary documents before the journey.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Moscow, the Russian capital, denounced the treatment of Chinese nationals – who were not named in the statement but match Jin’s description – as “barbaric”.
The embassy said: “We’ve made clear that … this incident seriously violated the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens, and was totally out of line with the currently amicable relationship between China and Russia, and the growing trend of closer exchange of personnel between our two countries.
“The embassy has asked the Russian side to further investigate the excessive law enforcement of its border officials and provide us with a satisfactory response.”
In response, Russian officials claimed the group was turned back because of inconsistencies in the information they provided about their travel plans and denied any form of discrimination.
