Prague, April 7 (CTK) – The Czech Interior Ministry received on Thursday Germany’s request for readmission of 25 Iraqi Christian refugees who rejected Czech asylum and left the Czech Republic for Germany last week, the ministry told CTK on Thursday.
It said it will not comment on the case until it studies the German request.
The group of refugees stayed in a recreation centre in Okrouhlik near Jihlava, south Moravia, where they were accommodated by the Generation 21 Endowment on their arrival in the Czech Republic earlier this year.
Last Saturday, they left for Germany in a hired bus.
Originally, German police wanted to return them to the Czech Republic.
Later Germany withdrew its request for their readmission, saying they applied for German asylum and have relatives in Germany.
Finally, the German authorities announced that they will ask the Czech Republic for the refugees’ readmission.
The group of refugees is expected to either return to Iraq or apply for Czech asylum again.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (Social Democrats, CSSD) said on Thursday that he does not expect the latter alternative to come true in a situation where the refuges previously did not want to stay in the Czech Republic.
The 25 refugees in question were among the 89 refugees whom Generation 21 transferred from Iraq or Lebanese refugee camps to the Czech Republic within its project in the past months.
Generation 21 planned to resettle a total of 153 Iraqi refugees in the Czech Republic, but the cabinet terminated the project on Thursday in reaction to the departure of the 25 refugees for Germany.
