Justice Minister Handed 45,000 Signature Petition Urging Protection For Human Trafficking Survivor By Andie Sophia Fontaine 16. febrúar 2021 14:00 Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir was handed a petition of over 45,000 signatures. Vísir/Vilhelm Friends and supporters of Uhunoma Osayomore, a human trafficking survivor facing deportation from Iceland, gave Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir a petition of over 45,000 signatures urging Icelandic authorities to grant him protection, Vísir reports. “This shows that the Icelandic people have taken a very clear position and are sending a clear message to authorities, and that there are many who want Uhunoma to have a home here,” Tómas Manoury, a friend of Uhunoma, told reporters. “The situation as it is now is taking its toll on him. He’s scared and is experiencing great injustice, so we’re trying to support him through this. And doing all that we can so that he can stay here.” As reported, Uhunoma left home in Nigeria when he was only 16 years old after witnessing his own father kill his mother and suffered the loss of his younger sister in an accident. Shortly thereafter, he was kidnapped by slave traders and subjected to sexual violence. Escaping that situation, he arrived in Iceland in October 2019. Since his arrival, Uhunoma has been taken in by an Icelandic family of six and made numerous friends. He also has a job waiting for him, should authorities allow him to work—asylum seekers are, by law, not permitted to work while their applications are being processed without being granted a special permit to do so. However, his application for international protection was denied by the Directorate of Immigration and the Immigration Appeals Board, and is now facing deportation. Magnús D. Norðdahl, Uhunoma’s lawyer, furthermore believes that immigration authorities deliberately ignored details of Uhunoma’s case; specifically, the evidence that he is a survivor of human trafficking. Such survivors, by Icelandic law, can be granted international protection even if they do not fulfill other requirements for a residence permit. Close to 46,000 people have signed the petition at the time of this writing. The post Justice Minister Handed 45,000 Signature Petition Urging Protection For Human Trafficking Survivor appeared first on The Reykjavik Grapevine. Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy Grapevine’s content and want to help it’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining the High Five Club. You can also check out Grapevine’s shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door. Mest lesið Fundu lík karlmanns í Reynisfjalli Innlent Kona á níræðisaldri sá björninn í þriggja metra fjarlægð Innlent Frambjóðandi Trump lýsti sér sem „svörtum nasista“ á klámsíðu Erlent Sýknaður af ákæru um manndráp af gáleysi á Akureyri Innlent Ákærður fyrir að stinga lækni í kvöldgöngu Innlent Áhyggjuefni að innri landamærin séu ekki betur tryggð Innlent Rafrettukóngur og eigandi Drekans sakaðir um 740 milljóna brot Innlent „Kerfið er algjörlega að bregðast fólkinu“ Innlent Reyndist ekki faðir stúlknanna Innlent Nafn mannsins sem lést í vinnuslysi í Árborg Innlent
“This shows that the Icelandic people have taken a very clear position and are sending a clear message to authorities, and that there are many who want Uhunoma to have a home here,” Tómas Manoury, a friend of Uhunoma, told reporters. “The situation as it is now is taking its toll on him. He’s scared and is experiencing great injustice, so we’re trying to support him through this. And doing all that we can so that he can stay here.” As reported, Uhunoma left home in Nigeria when he was only 16 years old after witnessing his own father kill his mother and suffered the loss of his younger sister in an accident. Shortly thereafter, he was kidnapped by slave traders and subjected to sexual violence. Escaping that situation, he arrived in Iceland in October 2019. Since his arrival, Uhunoma has been taken in by an Icelandic family of six and made numerous friends. He also has a job waiting for him, should authorities allow him to work—asylum seekers are, by law, not permitted to work while their applications are being processed without being granted a special permit to do so. However, his application for international protection was denied by the Directorate of Immigration and the Immigration Appeals Board, and is now facing deportation. Magnús D. Norðdahl, Uhunoma’s lawyer, furthermore believes that immigration authorities deliberately ignored details of Uhunoma’s case; specifically, the evidence that he is a survivor of human trafficking. Such survivors, by Icelandic law, can be granted international protection even if they do not fulfill other requirements for a residence permit. Close to 46,000 people have signed the petition at the time of this writing. The post Justice Minister Handed 45,000 Signature Petition Urging Protection For Human Trafficking Survivor appeared first on The Reykjavik Grapevine. Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy Grapevine’s content and want to help it’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining the High Five Club. You can also check out Grapevine’s shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy Grapevine’s content and want to help it’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining the High Five Club. You can also check out Grapevine’s shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Mest lesið Fundu lík karlmanns í Reynisfjalli Innlent Kona á níræðisaldri sá björninn í þriggja metra fjarlægð Innlent Frambjóðandi Trump lýsti sér sem „svörtum nasista“ á klámsíðu Erlent Sýknaður af ákæru um manndráp af gáleysi á Akureyri Innlent Ákærður fyrir að stinga lækni í kvöldgöngu Innlent Áhyggjuefni að innri landamærin séu ekki betur tryggð Innlent Rafrettukóngur og eigandi Drekans sakaðir um 740 milljóna brot Innlent „Kerfið er algjörlega að bregðast fólkinu“ Innlent Reyndist ekki faðir stúlknanna Innlent Nafn mannsins sem lést í vinnuslysi í Árborg Innlent