Switzerland Resumes Deportation Of Afghan, Ukrainian 'Criminal Migrants'
Swiss radio and television reported that the country has resumed the process of deporting some Afghan and Ukrainian foreign criminals after a hiatus of several years.
Swiss radio and television reported that the country has resumed the process of deporting some Afghan and Ukrainian foreign criminals after a hiatus of several years.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced that the decision includes people who pose a threat to the country's public safety.
In the first phase of this action, Switzerland deported three Ukrainian citizens last week and two Afghan citizens last month. The report also notes that the two Afghan nationals are the first cases of deportations of Afghan refugees since the Taliban came to power in August 2021.
One of them is an asylum seeker who was sentenced to a 16-month suspended prison sentence and a seven-year ban on entering Switzerland in 2018 for kicking another Afghan citizen in the head during a soccer match.
Vincenzo Mascioli, director of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), defended the decision, saying it was the first deportation to Ukraine since the start of the war in the country.
Some human rights organisations and migration experts have criticised Switzerland's decision. Amnesty International Switzerland has considered this action a violation of the humanitarian principle of non-return of refugees, stressing that Afghanistan and Ukraine are not suitable places for these people to return due to the dangerous security situation.
However, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has stated that the dangerous security situation in these countries is generally not an obstacle to deporting people to these countries. According to this decision, the insecurity of the destination country alone is not enough to waive the deportation, and the decision on each case is made separately and after further investigation.
