Reykjavík District Court has ruled against a decision made by the Ministry of the Interior and the Directorate of Immigration to deport an Iraqi asylum seeker.
By the court’s decision, the asylum seeker – referred to only as “A” – came to Iceland from Norway in April 2012. Two months later, the Directorate of Immigration decided that his case was not worth examining, and that he would instead be sent back to Norway. The Dublin Regulation was cited as the reasoning for the deportation decision, in that it gives signatory countries the right (although not the obligation) to send asylum seekers back to their previous point of departure.
“A” disagreed with the decision, and believed his case deserved to be examined. According to the asylum seeker, his father was in a high position in Saddam Hussein’s administration. The overthrowing of the Iraqi government led to his father’s kidnapping and murder, and “A” fears that if sent back to Iraq, the same fate awaits him.
The court ruled that his deportation should be struck down, and that legal fees totaling 800,000 ISK be paid to “A”. When his case will be taken up anew by the Directorate of Immigration and properly examined remains to be seen.
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