Border guards in Poland express dissatisfaction with the actions of the federal police.
Last week, on a Friday, a family from Afghanistan, aiming to enter Germany via Poland, was apprehended by German law enforcement. Surprisingly, they were subsequently released back into Poland by German border control, which pissed off the Polish border guards.
The Polish border official declared that the German police had illicitly transported the asylum seekers from Afghanistan without interpreters and dumped them on the Polish side of the border. According to the border guard, this action went against the principles of cooperation between the two entities and violated the Transfer Act. The official also added that the German authorities shouldn't be making decisions haphazardly.
In prior reports by Polish media,based on eyewitness accounts, a German police vehicle had shown up in the Polish border village of Osinow Dolny on that particular Friday, and left a migrant family there.
As per the statement made by the Federal Police, on the morning of June 14 at Altmaedewitz in Brandenburg, the officers had stopped a family of five from Afghanistan who had tried to illegally enter. The family had Polish asylum documents for the adults and Polish residence permits for the children. They had not submitted an asylum application to the German authorities, so according to the law, they should be returned to Poland.
The incident will undergo thorough investigation
According to the Federal Police, the Polish border guard was informed that the family would be handed over to them via the Joint Centre in Swiecko. However, no response was received from the Polish side when the German police asked for one multiple times, making them take the family with a patrol car from the German-Polish border at Hohenwutzen to release them in Poland.
Reportedly, the children in the family complained about being sick during the journey, so the Federal Police stopped in the village of Osinow Dolny for first aid at a pharmacy. However, the mother of the children forgot her phone at the Federal Police station, so she had to return to Brandenburg and then to her family in Poland with a patrol car.
The Federal Police announced that the incident will be closely examined. In response, the Polish border guard stated that its leadership would convene with the German police leadership on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
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The incident involving the Afghan family, initially apprehended by German law enforcement and later released into Poland, has led to tension between the Polish and German border authorities. Despite German authorities stating their intention to return the family to Poland due to lacking asylum application, Polish border guards are unhappy with the manner in which the family was transported and released without necessary interpreters, potentially violating cooperation principles and Transfer Act.
Moving forward, both Polish and German police leaderships have agreed to discuss this matter to maintain harmonious relations between the two countries and address concerns of refugees seeking asylum in Germany via Poland.