President Andrej Kiska (source: TASR)
“The Ministry did not prohibit the President from visiting Assyrian Christians in Humenné, but it was explained to his team that there are ongoing medical surveys of people and therefore they are in medical quarantine as any other asylum seeker in Slovakia,“ said Interior Ministry spokesperson Ivan Netík.
The Assyrian Christians from Iraq have to undergo a comprehensive medical examination, including blood sampling, chest x-ray and other screenings. After their quarantine ends and they go through standard asylum procedures their freedom will no longer be restricted; they will have freedom of movement.
Shortly after the families’ arrival to Slovakia on December 10 journalists and priest Peter Brenkus from Pokoj a Dobro civic association visited them. Those visits were permitted, according to Netík.
“Journalists visited the centre right after their arrival and before their medical tests and quarantine started,” Netík told Denník N daily. “Priest Peter Brenkus has been in touch with the group for a long time and he was with them even in Iraq.”
