Refugees Deeply | 26.04.2017
For almost a year, the Polish Border Guard has been turning away most Chechens and other asylum seekers arriving on the border with Belarus. The E.U. has kept largely silent – and has its own interest in keeping the bloc’s eastern border shut.
Claudia Ciobanu
WARSAW, POLAND – On Europe’s eastern frontier, the Polish border guard has been turning away an increasing number of asylum seekers, many from the repressive Russian republic of Chechnya, with little protest from European leaders.
For years, the Terespol border has been a main entry point for Chechens, Tajiks and others from the post-Soviet region to cross from Belarus into Poland and reach E.U. territory.
Chechens make up the largest number of asylum seekers at the border, and their numbers increased significantly last year, reportedly because of heightened repression ahead of last September’s Chechen election.
Yet no matter how many try to cross the border, the Polish border guards allow an average of two refugee families to enter Poland at Terespol per day, human rights groups estimate.
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