Published5. February 2024, 4:31 p.m
Basel: “Beggars are systematically driven here”
Despite the ban on begging and strict expulsion practices, Romanian begging groups are still being driven to Basel, as the observation of a news scout shows.
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A news scout observed a group of Roma beggars being unloaded from a van in Basel on Friday.
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Organized begging is prohibited in Basel. The police consistently report suspected cases to the public prosecutor.
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Since last summer, beggars have been expelled if the sole purpose of their entry is to beg. Since then, the number of beggars has fallen massively.
A news scout was able to observe on Friday evening around 6 p.m. how a group of Roma beggars were driven near the market hall in Basel by a silver van with a Romanian license plate and dropped off there. “Beggars are systematically brought in and distributed. They change their clothes in the market hall toilets and then sit in front of shops,” he says. He works in the market hall himself and has been observing this for years.
The scene observed shows that the begging Roma travel in organized structures. And organized begging has been banned in Basel since September 1, 2021. A Federal Court ruling of March 13, 2023 then created the conditions for the expulsion of beggars without a Swiss passport. Destitute people from EU or EFTA countries who enter Switzerland to beg do not meet the requirements for legal entry.
Fines and expulsions have an effect
In response to a 20-minute request, Adrian Plachesi, spokesman for the Basel-City cantonal police, confirmed that the cantonal police report the beggars to the public prosecutor’s office if there is evidence that begging is taking place in an organized manner. The expulsion practice is having an effect.
Since this decision, there have been significantly fewer beggars in the city. According to the Basel Cantonal Police, there are currently around 20 beggars in Basel-Stadt. “However, this number can change daily, depending on whether a larger family group is arriving,” explains Plachesi. However, wave-like increases could be recorded again and again, which usually lasted until the new arrivals were explained the rules that apply in Basel.
The police inform beggars in Basel about the legal situation with voice messages in Romanian.
20 minutes
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2024-02-05 16:21:39
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