Asylum seekers on hunger strike

The protest is currently underway in centres in Bialystok in the north and Przemysl in the south east and is not, as has been reported, over conditions in which they are being held but over the length of time it is taking to process their requests for refugee status, claims the Interior Ministry.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Malgorzata Wozniak says the protestors are citizens of Armenia and Georgia.

“Workers at the centers are continuing to talk to the foreigners so that they withdraw from their protest. [They are] are under the constant supervision and care of doctors, including psychologists ,” Wozniak told the PAP news agency.

According to the Interior Ministry 380 people are currently in six refugee centres throughout Poland. (pg)