A Nigerian asylum seeker fears that he will be sent to jail upon arrival in his home country, thanks to a leak within an Icelandic ministry.
“My reputation is ruined. I don’t understand how the ministry could do this to me, I don’t understand Iceland,” Nigerian asylum seeker Tony Omos told DV.
As reported, Tony’s application for asylum in Iceland has been rejected and so he faces deportation which would separate him from his pregnant girlfriend Evelyn.
A memo, stating that Tony was connected to a human trafficking case earlier this year, and that he is not actually the father of Evelyn’s expected child, hit the news three weeks ago.
However, Tony’s lawyer pointed out that the investigation had been dropped and so Tony’s name should not be associated with that case anymore. Evelyn and Tony have also said they’re willing to undergo a paternity test to prove he’s the father of her unborn child.
Tony has been in hiding for the past three weeks and is scared that information leaked from the Ministry of the Interior could have serious consequences if he is forced to return to his homeland.
“I’ve received messages from people in Nigeria who have heard that I’m a suspect in a human trafficking case here in Iceland,” Tony told DV and fears that if the matter won’t be cleared up in Icelandic court, he might be sent to prison in Nigeria.
More than half of prisoners in Nigeria have never been to court so being merely a crime suspect can lead to imprisonment and that is what Tony fears, should he be sent back.
According to Amnesty International, conditions in Nigerian prisons are horrendous and nearly one thousand prisoners died there in the first half of the year.
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