Iraqi man appeals deportation precedent
A 51-year-old Iraqi man who was denied asylum in Sweden in a controversial decision from the Swedish Board of Migration has appealed against the ruling.
Under new guidelines established by the board at the beginning of July, Iraqi asylum seekers should be deported if they cannot demonstrate that they are personally under threat.
The decision was based on the Migration Court of Appeal's assessment that Iraq is not currently involved in an armed conflict.
But the man's lawyer, Bengt Nergård, pointed out that when migration board officers were making their assessment of the situation in Iraq in June, it was considered too dangerous for them to actually visit the country. Instead they stayed in Jordan, reported Dagens Nyheter.
In his appeal to the Migration Court, the 51-year-old man has also argued that he is personally threatened. He says that Shia Muslims have labelled him a traitor and that he will be killed if he is forced to return to Baghdad.
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Under new guidelines established by the board at the beginning of July, Iraqi asylum seekers should be deported if they cannot demonstrate that they are personally under threat.
The decision was based on the Migration Court of Appeal's assessment that Iraq is not currently involved in an armed conflict.
But the man's lawyer, Bengt Nergård, pointed out that when migration board officers were making their assessment of the situation in Iraq in June, it was considered too dangerous for them to actually visit the country. Instead they stayed in Jordan, reported Dagens Nyheter.
In his appeal to the Migration Court, the 51-year-old man has also argued that he is personally threatened. He says that Shia Muslims have labelled him a traitor and that he will be killed if he is forced to return to Baghdad.
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