24 January 2013 Last updated at 11:50

In pictures: Vienna Votivkirche asylum-seeker protest

Asylum-seekers inside the Votivkirche, Vienna, 23 January

Some 40 asylum-seekers have been camping out on mattresses in a famous Roman Catholic church in central Vienna, the Votivkirche, protesting against Austria's asylum laws.

The group, believed to be mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, want the right to work permits while waiting for their asylum applications to be processed, as well as an end to deportations.

The protesters broke a weeks-long hunger strike this week but said they intended to remain in the church, despite offers of sheltered accommodation.

The Catholic charity Caritas, which is helping the protesters, has called on the government to "engage with the refugees".

But the government has rejected the protesters' demands, pointing out that, under current laws, asylum-seekers are allowed to take seasonal jobs such as fruit-picking three months after arriving.

Asylum-seekers inside the Votivkirche, Vienna, 28 December 2012

Some of the protesters arrived in the church last year. These men were pictured on 28 December. The number of asylum applications in Austria, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the EU, rose by nearly 21% last year.

Europe

In pictures: Vienna Votivkirche asylum-seeker protest

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