Brännvin
06-28-2009, 07:00 PM
http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/46082-first-iraqis-sent-home.html
Six Iraqi men were sent back to Iraq yesterday as part of the first wave of controversial forced repatriations
Humanitarian organisations have joined together to issue a last-minute plea to the government not to forcibly repatriate more than 250 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers, after six of the group were returned to Iraq yesterday.
In an open letter to the integration minister, Amnesty International, the Danish United Nations Association, the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, Save the Children and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network called on the government to stop further repatriations.
‘We are a number of human rights organisations that believe the forcible repatriation creates serious human rights problems. We are jointly appealing to Birthe Rønn Hornbech [integration minister] to give the rejected Iraqi asylum seekers residency on humanitarian grounds’.
The National Police said yesterday that the six men had been returned to Baghdad, where they have received money to continue their journey to their hometowns. In a statement that was released after the men’s return to Iraq, police said that the repatriation took place smoothly and calmly.
It was not only the media that was kept in the dark until after the event, but also the family of one of the men.
Mufsal al-Alji, 35, repatriated to Iraq after living in Denmark for eight years, was already in Baghdad when his family received a fax informing them of his return.
‘Mufsal has nothing to return home to; neither house nor family nor friends. And he only has enough money with him to last two days,’ said his cousin Yousef al-Badri to Politiken newspaper.
Eight men were initially arrested by police this week for repatriation, but two were not accepted by Iraqi authorities as their identification papers were forged. Police spokesman Hans Viggo Jensen said that more arrests with a view to repatriation would be carried out.
Since 2001, Denmark has given residence permits on humanitarian or special grounds to 4,134 Iraqis. The group of 265 Iraqis at the centre of this case have all had their asylum applications rejected by the Refugee Appeals Board.
A deal signed in May between Danish and Iraqi authorities allowed for the forcible repatriation of Iraqi citizens, but many of this group do not want to return due to safety fears or because their children have grown up in Denmark and have no connection to the Central Asian country.
Between 60 and 70 of the asylum seekers have taken refugee in Brorsons Church in Copenhagen to highlight their case and now asylum centres are clearing out their rooms because they have not returned to the centre as required.
The asylum seekers receive 645 kroner in spending money every two weeks, but have been afraid to return to the centre to collect it in case police are waiting for them. So far police have not approached the church to make arrests, but have not ruled it out in the future.
Six Iraqi men were sent back to Iraq yesterday as part of the first wave of controversial forced repatriations
Humanitarian organisations have joined together to issue a last-minute plea to the government not to forcibly repatriate more than 250 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers, after six of the group were returned to Iraq yesterday.
In an open letter to the integration minister, Amnesty International, the Danish United Nations Association, the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, Save the Children and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network called on the government to stop further repatriations.
‘We are a number of human rights organisations that believe the forcible repatriation creates serious human rights problems. We are jointly appealing to Birthe Rønn Hornbech [integration minister] to give the rejected Iraqi asylum seekers residency on humanitarian grounds’.
The National Police said yesterday that the six men had been returned to Baghdad, where they have received money to continue their journey to their hometowns. In a statement that was released after the men’s return to Iraq, police said that the repatriation took place smoothly and calmly.
It was not only the media that was kept in the dark until after the event, but also the family of one of the men.
Mufsal al-Alji, 35, repatriated to Iraq after living in Denmark for eight years, was already in Baghdad when his family received a fax informing them of his return.
‘Mufsal has nothing to return home to; neither house nor family nor friends. And he only has enough money with him to last two days,’ said his cousin Yousef al-Badri to Politiken newspaper.
Eight men were initially arrested by police this week for repatriation, but two were not accepted by Iraqi authorities as their identification papers were forged. Police spokesman Hans Viggo Jensen said that more arrests with a view to repatriation would be carried out.
Since 2001, Denmark has given residence permits on humanitarian or special grounds to 4,134 Iraqis. The group of 265 Iraqis at the centre of this case have all had their asylum applications rejected by the Refugee Appeals Board.
A deal signed in May between Danish and Iraqi authorities allowed for the forcible repatriation of Iraqi citizens, but many of this group do not want to return due to safety fears or because their children have grown up in Denmark and have no connection to the Central Asian country.
Between 60 and 70 of the asylum seekers have taken refugee in Brorsons Church in Copenhagen to highlight their case and now asylum centres are clearing out their rooms because they have not returned to the centre as required.
The asylum seekers receive 645 kroner in spending money every two weeks, but have been afraid to return to the centre to collect it in case police are waiting for them. So far police have not approached the church to make arrests, but have not ruled it out in the future.