Hiking group with Syrians mistaken for illegal immigrants
Around 40 hikers set off on an excursion in Saxon Switzerland. The phone rings at the police station and a citizen refers to what he sees as illegal immigrants. The officers move out and welcome the group on their return.
A group of mostly Syrian hikers in Saxon Switzerland was apparently an irritating sight for a citizen and led to a police operation. As journalist Riham Alkousaa wrote on X, alert officers were already waiting for the group when they returned to their accommodation. "We are a registered hiking club, mostly from Germany," she wrote. "Someone called the police because they saw the group and thought they were illegal migrants." The incident has since been reported by the British BBC. The Reuters journalist has since followed up and posted a picture of herself with the sentence: "We'll keep walking."
The first post triggered lively discussions on Twitter follower X. Riham Alkousaa also took part to a certain extent, writing that she was a German citizen. The other hikers were all students or professionals living in Germany.
According to the"Sächsische Zeitung", the Dresden police department confirmed the corresponding operation yesterday, November 9th. According to the report, there had been an emergency call indicating that a group of several people who may have entered the country illegally were traveling in the Bad Schandau region. The federal police were then informed.
As the newspaper further reported, citing the Berggießhübel Federal Police Station, officers then drove to Porschdorf, where the hiking group was staying. There they found the group of around 40 people - mostly Syrians, but also some Germans. After checking their papers, the matter was resolved in five minutes. The police also confirmed the procedure to the BBC.
The spokesperson pointed out that the police had to respond to emergency calls. In recent weeks, there have been many calls from residents that have led to illegal immigrants being apprehended. The region is only a few kilometers from the border with the Czech Republic. A few weeks ago, the Pirna Federal Police announced that officers had registered almost 26,000 unauthorized entries this year alone by the end of September. That was already 25 percent more than in the entire previous year.
- The incident, where a hiking group mistaken for illegal immigrants was reported to the police, gained international attention, being featured in the British BBC.
- The hiking group, primarily comprised of Syrians, had entered Switzerland for their excursion in Saxon Switzerland.
- Despite the emergency call suggesting otherwise, the police discovered that the hiking group had all the necessary documents during their visit to Porschdorf, Switzerland.
Source: www.ntv.de
