Poland has deported eight people from Tajikistan and Georgia to their countries of origin for posing “a threat to national security and public order,” with one of the Tajik nationals believed to have links to terrorist groups, officials have said.
The move was announced by the spokesman for Poland’s security services on Friday.
Stanisław Żaryn said: “Poland’s Border Guard agency has deported eight people to their countries of origin for posing a threat to the security of Poland and Polish people. One of the deported men, a Tajik citizen, had links to a terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”
Of the eight deported persons, six were Tajik citizens and two hailed from Georgia, according to officials.
They were deported from Poland by a military plane on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
‘Sufficient evidence of security threat’
Żaryn told reporters that Poland’s security services had collected “sufficient evidence of the security threat” posed by the eight foreigners to warrant “asking them to leave Poland,” and the expulsion was carried out by the Border Guard agency.
“For Polish authorities, the security of Polish people remains a priority concern,” he said.
He added: “Poland does not, and will not, tolerate the presence on our territory of people who generate threats. Polish authorities must use the available measures to ensure that people who pose a threat to Poland are deported.”
‘Links to ISIS’
The Border Guard agency said that four of the eight foreigners deported on Thursday had “posed a threat to state security and public order.”
Moreover, in the case of one of the expelled individuals, a Tajik citizen, “links to the terrorist organisation ISIS have been established,” the agency added.
Some of the eight deportees also “organised or helped with” illegal crossings into Poland from Belarus, according to officials.
Among the foreigners there were also people who organized or helped in illegal crossing of the border from Belarus to Poland. Deported foreigners are banned from entering the territory of the Schengen countries for a period of 5-10 years. https://t.co/KBhMdRpQwp— Stanisław Żaryn (@StZaryn) June 23, 2023
Five of the deportees had earlier applied for international protection in Poland, but all were denied “refugee status and subsidiary protection” by the Warsaw-based Office for Foreigners, the Border Guard said.
The five foreigners appealed against these decisions to Poland’s Council for Refugees, but the Council sided with the Office for Foreigners and upheld the verdicts, the PAP news agency reported.
The eight deportees have also been banned from entering the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone for a period of five to 10 years, according to officials.
Wczoraj #SG deportowała do krajów pochodzenia 6 ob.Tadżykistanu🇹🇯 i 2 ob.Gruzji🇬🇪.
Mężczyźni otrzymali decyzje zobowiązujące do powrotu-czterech z nich stanowiło zagrożenie dla bezpieczeństwa państwa i porządku publicznego.
W przypadku jednego ustalono związki z terroryzmem. pic.twitter.com/Viwo9QIdjp— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) June 23, 2023
In the first five months of 2023, a total of 432 people were deported from Poland to their countries of origin, the Border Guard agency said.
Source: Polskie Radio