An asylum seeker from Afghanistan was told by police “Go home, you don’t belong here” when he was arrested during police search for Tony Omos, the asylum seeker who was deported on Wednesday.
Yusuf Mahdavi is a 23 year old refugee who fled Afghanistan at the age of six, when the Taliban invaded his home village and killed his father.
His brother has been missing since but Yusuf’s mother managed to escape with the rest of her children to Iran.
Now, Yusuf waits for his asylum application in Iceland to be dealt with.
When police were looking for Tony Omos recently, they searched Yusuf’s home and arrested him and his flat mate, another asylum seeker, seemingly because Yusuf didn’t tell them his name.
They were both kept in a cell at the police station on Hverfisgata for 14 hours, without being offered to speak to a solicitor.
Yusuf’s lawyer, Helga Vala Helgadóttir, told DV that the arrest was unprovoked and illegal and that she has made charges to the State’s Attorney.
While being driven in a police car to the police station, a female police officer said to a handcuffed Yusuf that he should go back to his home and that he didn’t belong in this place.
Yusuf’s friend told him afterwards that he had received similar messages from the police during his capture.
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