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Afghan hunger strikers denied asylum

The Swedish Migration Board has decided not to re-open the asylum application cases of eight hunger-striking Afghan men in Boden, north Sweden.

Afghan hunger strikers denied asylum

The Afghanis’ spokesman Ahmad Kahlil told local newspaper Norbottenskuriren (NK) that the Migration Board (Migrationsverket) has announced that it will not try the men’s cases again.

The men have been on hunger strike for two weeks in protest against their deportation orders. They maintain that it is not safe for them to return to Afghanistan.

“We understand that people who are waiting for a ruling or who have had their asylum application denied are in a very difficult situation,” said the Migration Board’s director of operations, Mikael Ribbenvik.

“It is important to understand that we have an asylum process in Sweden where the Migration Board’s decision can be appealed in a regular Swedish court,” he added.

The hunger strike outside the Migration Board’s offices in Boden continues despite the negative ruling and the men have already begun the process of appealing the ruling.

The hunger strikers have taped their mouths shut to demonstrate that they are refusing to eat or drink.

Twelve days into the protest, three of the men had been admitted to hospital, with Red Cross representatives saying they were in a critical condition.

Around 15 Afghan men are on hungerstrike in Boden and at an asylum seekers’ residence near Umeå, reported Sveriges Radio (SR) on Tuesday. Some have already had their asylum applications denied, while others are still waiting for a ruling.

TT/The Local/nr

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IMMIGRATION

France ‘will not welcome migrants’ from Lampedusa: interior minister

France "will not welcome migrants" from the island, Gérald Darmanin has insisted

France 'will not welcome migrants' from Lampedusa: interior minister

France will not welcome any migrants coming from Italy’s Lampedusa, interior minister Gérald Darmanin has said after the Mediterranean island saw record numbers of arrivals.

Some 8,500 people arrived on Lampedusa on 199 boats between Monday and Wednesday last week, according to the UN’s International Organisation for
Migration, prompting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to travel there Sunday to announce an emergency action plan.

According to Darmanin, Paris told Italy it was “ready to help them return people to countries with which we have good diplomatic relations”, giving the
example of Ivory Coast and Senegal.

But France “will not welcome migrants” from the island, he said, speaking on French television on Tuesday evening.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on Italy’s EU partners to share more of the responsibility.

The recent arrivals on Lampedusa equal more than the whole population of the tiny Italian island.

The mass movement has stoked the immigration debate in France, where political parties in the country’s hung parliament are wrangling over a draft law governing new arrivals.

France is expected to face a call from Pope Francis for greater tolerance towards migrants later this week during a high-profile visit to Mediterranean city Marseille, where the pontiff will meet President Emmanuel Macron and celebrate mass before tens of thousands in a stadium.

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