"Standing in front of the 5.5-meter-high steel wall, she praised Poland's border security measures and its successful defense against irregular migrants attempting to enter the European Union. Two days later, five refugee aid workers stood trial in nearby Bialystok. They are known as the "Hajnowka Five" or by the hashtag, "#H5" because their trial began in January 2025 in the district court of the small town of Hajnowka, a small town of 22,000 people, just 20 kilometers from the Polish border with Belarus."
"Interest in the trial is running high as it highlights the humanitarian consequences of Europe's isolationist policy. Three women and two men are accused of human trafficking. In March 2022, they provided emergency assistance to an Iraqi-Kurdish family with seven children in the Bialowieza National Park near the border and then attempted to drive them to the nearest town in Poland. In doing so, they were stopped by a Polish border patrol, who discovered the refugees in the back seats."
On August 31, 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the Polish-Belarusian border with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and praised Poland's 5.5‑meter steel wall and border-security measures. Two days later five refugee aid workers stood trial in Bialystok as the 'Hajnowka Five' or '#H5' after media interest forced a January 2025 move from Hajnowka. The five are accused of human trafficking after helping an Iraqi-Kurdish family of nine in March 2022 in Bialowieza National Park and attempting to drive them to the nearest Polish town, when border patrol stopped the vehicle and discovered the refugees. The prosecutor recommended one year and four months' imprisonment, citing deliberate resistance to migration policy and security destabilization.
Read at www.dw.com
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