[PRESS RELEASE] Afghan government questions the forced deportion to Afghanistan?

The latest detention and deportation arrangements of Afghan refugees which includes two families, Mr Bayat with his wife and 8 months old baby and Mr Wahid with his 7 months old baby have the Afghan government concerned over the transparency and justification of the Asylum process of the  Afghan refugees in Finland.

Finland and the Afghan government have signed a joint declaration early this year to carry out Deportations to Afghanistan. The declaration signed between the two countries is the part of the EU-Bilateral agreement when the EU held the Afghan government for ransom to sign the agreement for the foreign aid money they receive from the EU.

According to the Article 8 of the agreement, “The Afghan government needs to ensure, that individuals returning do not face intimidation, persecution, discrimination, harassment or any other punitive measures upon return”.

Unfortunately, Afghanistan is going through a civil war and the ensuring safety of the individuals returning back to Afghanistan is something which will not be fulfilled.

We can confirm that On the first day of detention of the Afghan Asylum seekers in Juotseno detention center, the Afghan government officials have made contact to each detainee through Skype to assess their situation. The detainees felt confused and panicked on why the Afghan officials had contacted them.

The videos of the protest prior to Mr Bayat’s arrest in his reception center  that surfaced on social media sites were talked about in the Afghan media and shocked Afghan officials witnessing the violent forced deportation.

The Afghan officials had asked the detained Afghan refugees about their wellbeing and had asked on how their asylum application has been processed. When questions  about returning back to Afghanistan and  about their hometown were asked from the detainees, they expressed their fear of returning to danger as they had left from violence and persecution and have no life left back in Afghanistan.

Mr Bayat tells us at stop deportation network, that during the conversation with the Afghan officials, he had pleaded not to accept the deportation flight to Afghanistan, as the government will not be able to maintain their safety and he and his 8 months old baby will be killed upon return.

Mr Bayat and the stop deportation network fear that the quotas of the agreement signed between Finland and Afghanistan will not be fulfilled.

Understandably, when speaking to the Afghan officials through Skype, all the Afghan detained refugees have spoken of their fears of returning to Afghanistan as the Afghan government had previously failed to protect them from life threatening dangers of armed militias in Kabul and the taliban in the countryside.

Finnish government has not shown any interest to monitor the safety of any  returned refugees, we in the stop deportation network demand the Finnish migration services need to refer to UNHCR and the amnesty international country reports of Afghanistan whilst assessing the asylum application of the refugees from Afghanistan.

It is not a secret that the Afghan minister for refugees and reparations Mr Alami and UNHCR representatives have continuously called for a halt in deportation to Afghanistan as the security situation has worsened and civilian Casualty rate is on record high. All the NGOs, UNHCR and the Afghan ministry for refugees are against deportation to Afghanistan as the safety of them will not be guaranteed yet Finnish interior ministry and migration office are making the unfortunate and deadly returns of these refugees without assessing the situation of Afghanistan according to the updated reports.

Forced deportation to Afghanistan in the current climate with deteriorating security situation, unstable government and the rise and influence of the armed oppositions undermines basic human rights of these forcibly returned Afghan refugees.

The inconsistent, unreliable and flawed decision making of the migration services seriously puts the wellbeing and safety of these returned refugees in danger.