HELSINKI: Finland closed again its border with Russia on Friday evening at 1800 GMT for a month, after more than 300 asylum seekers entered from Russia within two days, the Finnish Border Guard said.
The Nordic country reopened two border crossings on Thursday to allow travel between the two countries after a two-week total closure, but the Finnish government decided the same day to close them again on Friday, after the inflow of asylum seekers restarted as soon as the border restrictions were relaxed.
Some 900 asylum seekers from nations such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Border Guard.
Helsinki says the inflow of asylum seekers arriving via Russia is an orchestrated move by Moscow in retaliation for Finland’s decision to increase defense cooperation with the United States. The Kremlin denies this.
The arrivals stopped when Finland shut the border in late November, but resumed on Thursday when two of the eight crossings were reopened.
Traffic became congested and tensions mounted on the Finnish side of the Vaalimaa crossing before its closing time, local media reported, citing angry and hungry Russian border crossers some of whom had queued the whole day with their children to make it back to Russia before the suddenly announced re-closure.
The Border Guard told Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, that border crossers coming from Finland could not be let through because Russian border authorities were letting so many migrants through the crossing from the Russian side.
On Thursday, 155 asylum seekers arrived through the two open crossing points, the Border Guard said. On Friday, more than 200 people had sought asylum before the borders closed again, it told local TV channel MTV.
In a letter published on Monday, the Council of Europe said it was “concerned about the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants” following the temporary border closure, and asked Finland to ensure it remained possible to seek protection.
Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen, who represents the anti-immigration Finns Party, told Reuters on Monday there was no cause for human rights concerns, however, as asylum could be sought at other entry points.
Finland still allows asylum applications to be filed by migrants arriving at harbors and airports.
More asylum seekers rushed to Finland from Russia before border reclosure
https://arab.news/97484
More asylum seekers rushed to Finland from Russia before border reclosure
- The Finnish government decided the same day to close them again on Friday, after the inflow of asylum seekers restarted as soon as the border restrictions were relaxed
- Some 900 asylum seekers from nations such as Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November
Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations
- The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization
- “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence,” Rubio said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for US relationships with allies Qatar and Turkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
Trump’s executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April.
Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the US, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation.
“For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations,” including in Qatar and Turkiye, he said.
Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the US but also Western European countries and Canada.
“I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum,” he said.
Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group.
Two Republican-led state governments — Florida and Texas — designated the group as a terrorist organization this year.
