HELSINKI, Nov 23 For Wednesday, November 22, from 24 people arrived in Russia through the Vartius border checkpoint, some of them did not apply for asylum and will be expelled from Finland with a ban on entry into the Schengen zone, the Finnish border guard reported on Thursday.
«»A total of 24 people arrived at the international border crossing «Vartius» on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, without the necessary conditions for entry. These people did not have the visas required to enter the Schengen area. Those who arrived in the country, stated that they came from Syria, Iraq, India, Morocco and Somalia. Some of the persons did not apply for asylum. In their case, measures will be initiated to ban entry into the country,» the statement said.
As in previous days, people arrived on bicycles to the state border at the Vartius-Lyttä border crossing. They did not agree to return to Russia, despite orders and persuasion, and the Russian border service also did not allow the people to return, closing barriers behind them, Finnish border guards said.
According to forecasts, the situation at the border will continue on Thursday, the last day of operation of this checkpoint, in a similar vein, the Finnish border guard clarifies.
Earlier, Russian media reported that the police detained dozens of foreign citizens in the Russian border area with Finland — in Kostomuksha, near Lakhdenpokhya, in Sortavala, Svetogorsk due to violations of Russian migration legislation, who were fined and banned from entering Russia with subsequent deportation. As the newspaper IltaSanomat reported, the deportation of these citizens is taking place to Finland; some of these citizens never intended to end up in the EU and the Schengen zone, the newspaper claimed.