Cameroonian teenager still being held

29 March 2007

BRUSSELS – The Cameroonian teenager detained while on a school trip to Poland with his Belgian classmates will be returned to Belgium on Friday at the earliest. The boy has been in custody at the German-Polish border since Monday.

Germany has now approved the request from Belgium’s Ministry for Foreigners to take over his file.

The young man was detained by German police when his school group tried to cross the border into Poland on a trip to Auschwitz.

“The Cameroonian no longer has valid residence papers. The only document he had with him was a copy of an outdated diplomatic card,” the German foreign affairs ministry said.

The bus carrying the students was held at the border for 10 hours. The teachers on the trip refused to allow the student to be repatriated to Cameroon. The boy has been enrolled at the IPES institute of Haspengouw since 2002.

The school’s administration was in contact with the German embassy in Belgium before the German authorities agreed to hand the boy over to Belgium.

The Ministry for Foreigners will look into the case once the young man is back in Belgium.

Subject: Belgian news