Paris/Agency Caucasus – A huge number of Chechen refugees sought ways of entry into
Paris, ‘s capital, after the coverage of Schengen agreement was extended.
The Chechen refugees who sought asylum at the
Airport of
Charles de Gaulle rose in number to 150 since December 23. After there was no more room left in the lounge, some Chechens had to be occupied in bad conditions of the airport’s stations. Those Chechens have not been let out over the past six days, according to the Chechen Committee in
Paris . A group of 15 Chechens even have to share a single area of nine square meters, neither with enough space to sleep nor with someone who can help them to speak the language of officials. Moreover, refugees even from the same families cannot speak to each other, because they are grouped separately. All that is good that the
Paris police can do is to have both women and children stay in relatively good conditions. Although the Chechens here appealed for help from both ANAFE and Amnesty International, they have not yet been responded to.
An asylum seeker is supposed to apply first to the airport police, according to the French codes of asylum. If the asylum seeker does not hold an Schengen visa, he/she has to stay in the lounge, where the asylum seeker is questioned about his/her application by an official from the French Bureau of Defense of Refugee Rights. In case the asylum seeker has to stay longer than expected in the lounge, he/she gets referred to court to have the final say on whether he/she can be released or not. KU/ÖZ/FT
