Five Russians have been detained for months at the international airport of the South Korean capital Seoul, the Korea Times reports. They fled, separately from each other, their homeland because they wanted to avoid conscription. “I left my house a few hours following I received my call-up letter.”
Igor Bulke
Latest update:
08:39
Bron:
The Moscow Times, The Korea Times
Upon arrival, the five hoped to be granted asylum, but in South Korea avoiding conscription is not a valid reason to apply for refugee status. Their request was therefore rejected. Since then, they have been staying in the airport’s duty-free shops.
“I will never take up arms to go and kill innocent people in Ukraine,” one of the men, Vladymyr Maraktaev, told the Korean newspaper. The Russian has only a few dollars left in his pocket, having spent almost all of his savings to flee his country. “I left my house a few hours following I received the conscription notice. I decided to leave as soon as possible, because they might come and get me in the morning.”
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The five men have meanwhile hired a lawyer and appealed once morest the rejection. “These men will be prosecuted in their home countries for their political views,” said their lawyer Lee Jong-Chan. “That is why they should be given asylum status according to international rules. The Justice Department should know that.”
The court will issue a ruling at the end of this month. If they win, they will receive a temporary status with which they can start an asylum procedure. If they lose, they will most likely have to return to Russia.
Meanwhile, the Russians continue to camp at the airport. One of them has been there for almost three months. The five currently live on three simple meals that the South Korean authorities provide them every day: a muffin and juice for breakfast and dinner; and rice with chicken for lunch.
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