From Iceland — Syrian Family Barred Entry To Celebrate Wedding

Syrian Family Barred Entry To Celebrate Wedding

Published March 31, 2015

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Julia Staples

A Syrian man and an Icelandic woman have waited nearly two years to hear whether or not his family could attend the couple’s wedding, and have been denied.

MBL reports that the couple in question, Guðný Harpa Hall­gríms­dótt­ir and Mohamad Khattab, had a wedding June 10, 2013, but his family were not in attendance, as they had been denied visas to visit the country by the Directorate of Immigration.

The couple quickly appealed the decision to the Ministry of the Interior, but the ministry only got around to replying March 26 of this year: Mohamed’s family were denied entry.

“It is a tragedy that my family cannot come here and celebrate with us,” Mohamed told reporters. “What I find almost as bad is the disrespect and humiliation we were shown during this long wait. Nothing was done for nearly two years.”

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