Belarus: Syrische Flüchtlinge per Zwang abgeschoben

Auch dies war nur eine Frage der Zeit: Offenbar werden Menschen aus Syrien, obwohl sie sogar versucht haben in Belarus Asylanträge zu stellen, zwangsweise zurück geschoben. Und was ihnen in Syrien blüht, das ist hinlänglich bekannt.

Damit geht der letzte Rest an Schutz, den die Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention verspricht, an den Außengrenzen der EU verloren:

Belarus has reportedly forced Syrian refugees to return to Syria despite being wanted by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, in an effort to rid itself of the thousands of asylum seekers trafficked to the country in recent months.

Since September, migrants and refugees from countries such as Syria and Iraq were trafficked to Minsk by a consortium of smugglers and airlines, and have amassed at Belarus's border with Poland and other nearby states. (...)

According to two Syrians who returned on a flight by the internationally-sanctioned Cham Wings airline, men approached their hostel in Minsk and identified themselves as Belarusian government officials with badges. The officials then told the Syrians to either take the flight back to Syria or to arrange a flight to another country, giving them only three days' notice.

The refugees pleaded for more time – as they did not possess the resources to arrange transport to a different country, nor do many countries grant travel visas to Syrians, especially on such short notice – but the officials refused. Their passports were confiscated and would only be given back once they turned up at the airport with an arranged flight.

The refugees also requested for asylum in Belarus, but that too was denied. "We told them that many of us can't go back to Syria because we are wanted by the Syrian regime," one of the men said. "They didn't listen."