The Austrian press agency APA reported that a Chechen family is at risk for deportation. A regional political party leader has asked authorities to grant residence to the family on humanitarian grounds.

According to the news, a Chechen family, which consists of two parents (42 and 38 years old) and their three daughters (5, 14 and 18 years old) is at risk for deportation this Christmas season.

The Chechen family arrived in Austria about 8 years ago and in December of 2003, applied for asylum. Their application was rejected in June of 2006. They have applied to the Constitutional Court and the court annulled the extradition. However, the asylum court once again rejected their application. Thus, the family applied for asylum on humanitarian grounds to the Carinthia (Kärnten) state refugee department.

Peter Kaiser, head of the Austrian Social Democrat Party’s (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs – SPÖ) Carinthia province, organized a press conference and demanded refugee status for the family, which is well-integrated into Austrian society. “After the negative decision of the court, the family now has serious problems like the possibility of being deported from Austria after their eight years in Carinthia. The family must obtain a humanitarian residence permit with the joint effort of the State Government and Federal authorities in this case. We visited the school where the Aliyarova family’s children are studying and according to their teachers, the children are the best in their class and have a perfect understanding of the German language,” said Kaiser.

On the other hand, the governor’s spokesman, Gerhard Dörfler said that they will try their best to approve the family’s residence.

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco