About 200 refugees from Georgia, Chechnya and Ingushetia residing in Poland occupied a train for 11 hours on Tuesday near the western border, as they were attempting to get to Strasbourg to the report living conditions in Poland and take part in a demonstration.

Polish authorities will take testimonies today.

The group of Chechens did not purchase tickets nor do they have documents that would allow them to cross the border into Germany. The refugees seek to get to Strasbourg, France, to the European Court of Human Rights to join a peaceful demonstration to push for the rights of refugees from the Caucuses throughout Europe.

“Their temporary identification cards allow them to remain in Poland until all of the procedures a refugee must go through are finished, but they may not cross the border,” says Anna Galon from the Odra border guards office.

A Chechen spokesman said that this is the only way that they are able to draw media attention to the conditions in which they live.

“Pigs are better fed in Poland than we are. Children are given yogurt that is about to reach its expiry date. I have lived here half a year and the average citizen is normal, it is the authorities that I cannot understand,” one of the Chechen refugees told TVN24.

Just before 18:00 CET Tuesday, the 200 Chechens were escorted off the train and bused to a nearby camp to spend the night and straighten out their paperwork.

About 2,700 Chechen refugees were registered in Poland in 2008. (mmj)

Source: Tvn24, IAR