A family of seven, who fled persecution from the Taliban for a better life in Iceland, will be deported to Germany any day now, where there is a strong likelihood that they will be deported back to Afghanistan. A petition is now being circulated that calls upon Minister of the Interior Ólöf Nordal to stop the deportation.
The Ahmadi family, which includes three young children and an elderly couple, have been living in Iceland for over a year now. In their home country of Afghanistan, they were subject to intense persecution from the Taliban, including the brutal beating of a young girl in the family who was left partially paralyzed as a result of her injuries.
Nonetheless, the Directorate of Immigration (UTL) decided not to examine their case, but rather to send them back to Germany on the basis of the Dublin Regulation. This regulation gives signatory countries the power – although not the obligation – to deport asylum seekers back to their previous point of departure.
The family is terrified of being sent to Germany, and with good reason. The European Union, which includes Germany, recently signed an agreement with Afghanistan to deport an untold number of Afghan refugees, which Afghanistan accepted in exchange for $15 billion USD in aid.
As such, a petition is now being circulated amongst Icelanders calling upon the Interior Minister, who oversees UTL, to stop the deportation at once. They believe the deportation is not only inhumane, but also a possible violation of Iceland’s own child protection laws.
No exact date for this deportation has been set at the time of this writing.
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