Denmark: Further information on fear of imminent refoulement
Rabah Hamana, Nassima Hamana and child: The above named and their newborn child face imminent and forcible return to Algeria where they would be at risk of serious human rights violations. The family have been summoned to appear at a police station on 31 January 1997, signalling the beginning of the procedure for their deportation. The Board of Refugees is considering reopening their case, but they must leave the country while their case is being reconsidered, and they could be sent back at any time to Algeria.
EXTERNAL AI Index: EUR 18/01/97
30 January 1997
Further information on EXTRA 199/96 (EUR 18/03/96, 31 December 1996) and
correction, 3 January 1997 - Fear of imminent refoulement
DENMARKRabah Hamana, Nassima Hamana and child, Algerian asylum-seekers
Rabah Hamana and his family have been summoned to appear at the police station
on 31 January 1997, signalling the beginning of the procedure for their
deportation.
In Denmark, asylum-seekers whose applications have been rejected are summoned
to appear at the police station to sign a form whereby they formally agree
to their deportation. They are then booked on a flight to their country.
The asylum claim of Rabah Hamana, Nassima Hamana and their child was rejected
by the Danish immigration service on 7 June 1996. The Flygtninge Naevnet (Board
of Refugees) is considering reopening the case in the light of information
supplied by Amnesty International and other bodies. However, even if the case
is reopened, the family have been informed that they must leave the country
while their case is being reconsidered. (It is common practice in Denmark that
the applicants must leave the country while their case is being reconsidered.)
In the case of the Hamana family, even a temporary return to Algeria would
put them at risk of human rights abuses as the Algerian authorities are not
at present able or willing to ensure the protection of their citizens.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Since the outbreak of the current political violence in 1992, tens of thousands
Algerians have been arbitrarily detained, ill-treated, “disappeared” and
extrajudicially executed by the security forces and armed opposition groups.
As violations and abuses by both government forces and armed opposition groups
have continued to spread, an increasing number of civilians have found
themselves caught in the spiral of violence, targeted by one side or the other,
or by both. Many people who are threatened with death by armed opposition groups
are unable to obtain any protection. Many fear that if they give in to these
threats this could be interpreted by the authorities as an expression of support
for such groups, thereby putting them at risk from the security forces.
There has been an escalation of violence both during the run-up to the
constitutional referendum which took place in November 1995 and during Ramadan,
at a time when the Algerian authorities were claiming that law and order and
security were being reestablished and that "terrorism and violence were only
residual". The victims, including women and children, were massacred in their
homes, or were killed during the explosion of public buildings and cafés, or
following the hijacking of trains and buses. Some had their throats slit or
were beheaded, others hacked and mutilated after being shot. Scores of
villagers were reported to have escaped en masse to urban areas after attacks
by armed groups in rural areas. Survivors of the massacres complained that
the security forces made no efforts to protect them and did not come to their
rescue, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. In January 1997, it is estimated
that more than 250 people have been killed in the political violence.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/
airmail letters in English, Danish or in your own language:
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- continuing to urge the Danish authorities not to forcibly return Rabah Hamana,
Nassima Hamana and their child to Algeria where they are at risk of arbitrary
detention, torture, "disappearance" or extrajudicial execution;
- continuing to remind the authorities of Denmark’s obligation under the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, in particular Article 33, not
to forcibly return anyone to a country where he or she would be at risk of
serious human rights violations;
- continuing to remind the authorities of their duty under Article 3 of the
UN Convention against Torture as well as Article 3 of the European Convention
on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, not to send people to countries where
they may be at risk of torture;
- further urging the authorities to reconsider their assessment of the human
rights situation in Algeria, in light of the recent information supplied by
Amnesty International and other organizations, and of the mass killings and
bombings which have taken place in Algeria in the last few months.
APPEALS TO:
Mr Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Prime Minister
Christiansborg
Prins Jørgens Gaard 11,
1218 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Faxes: +45 33 11 16 65
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Copenhagen, Denmark
Telexes: 27027
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Ms Birte Weiss
Minister of Interior
Christiansborg
Slotsplads 1
1218 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Faxes: +45 33 11 12 39
Telegrams: Interior Minister, Copenhagen, Denmark
Salutation: Dear Minister
Mr Frank Jensen
Minister of Justice
Slotsholmsgade 10
1216 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Faxes: +45 33 93 35 10
Telexes: 15530
Telegrams: Justice Minister, Copenhagen, Denmark
Salutation: Dear Minister
Mr Niels Helveg Petersen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Asiatisk Plads 2
1448 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Faxes: +45 31 54 05 33
Telexes: 31292
Telegrams: Foreign Minister, Copenhagen, Denmark
Salutation: Dear Minister
and to diplomatic representatives of Denmark accredited to your country.
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PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 28 February 1997.