Khash Batdavaa talking to media after completing his engineering thesis defence last week.

A court in Przemysl, south-east Poland, ruled on Monday that a Mongolian family which had failed to gain the right to remain in Poland despite staying in the country for eleven years is to remain in custody of the Border Guard.

The family's case became known last week after the eldest son, Khash (pictured left), defended his engineering thesis at Krakow's AGH Univerisity of Science and Technology in the presence of Border Guards functionaries.

The court ruled that as there have been no formal calls for their release, the Batdavaa family is to remain in a detention centre in Przemysl.

The family’s case is being looked into by the Office for Foreigners, which, according to unofficial information obtained by Polish Radio, may grant temporary right to remain in Poland.

The Batdavaa family has lived in the southern city of Krakow since 2000. They were taken into custody after an order given by the Malopolska Provincial Governor, Stanislaw Kracik at the beginning of the year.

However, Kracik himself told Polish Radio earlier last week that “there is no ethical reason” why the Batdavaa family should be deported. (jb)


More on this story in Tuesday’s News from Poland magazine at 14.00 CET on Polish Radio - External Service