14 January 2008, 14:25
80 applicants for political asylum from Chechnya stay at the Paris airport
The Paris airport Roissie-Charles de Gaulle is overwhelmed by applicants for political asylum from Chechnya. The refugees are in the conditions unfit for long stay of people.
The refugees are in hard conditions - there are no beds, only metal seats with armrests, no shower. 80 women and men are in one room, they have no telephone.
The Anafé Association (in charge of defending rights of foreigners in frontier territories) stated in its report dated January 8 the fact of non-observance of the rights for political asylum, the message of the "Committee of Chechnya" runs.
On January 8, 13 natives of Chechnya started a hunger strike in protest against the situation, in which some people stay for ten days already.
According to the Anafé, France rejects to grant political asylum on a large-scale basis. On January 5 and 6, 2008, the OFPRA (Office of France to Protect Refuge-seekers and Apatrides) groundlessly rejected asylum applications from dozens residents of Chechnya.
The "Committee of Chechnya" reports that the associations that are defending the right for refuge and advocates have contacted the European Court for Human Rights with a demand to cancel the decision of the French administration.
