Norwegian court orders asylum seeker to leave 19 years after he arrived
An asylum seeker who has lived in Norway for 19 years has been ordered to leave after the Oslo District Court upheld a decision to deport him after he confirmed his identity and country of origin.
Suel Kassembo, from Burundi, faces deportation from Norway after the Oslo District Court rejected his appeal to have the deportation decision from Norway's immigration authorities overturned.
The authorities decided to deport him after he clarified his identity years after his initial asylum application was denied. The application had been rejected as authorities could not verify his details at the time.
The court ruled that he would likely not be in danger if he was returned to Burundi.
"The court has ... concluded that Kassembo is not exposed to a real risk of persecution if he returns to Burundi," the judgement stated.
Kassembo claimed he travelled to Norway at the age of 16 as a stowaway aboard a ship after his family were killed in an attack on his childhood home during the civil war in Burundi in 2004.
At the time of his initial asylum application, most applications from those fleeing Burundi were granted due to the "general unsafe security situation" in the country.
The authorities doubted whether Kassembo came from Burundi as he spoke Swahili and not Kirundi, which is the dominant language in Burundi.
His lawyers argued that he would have probably been granted political asylum and residency in 2007 if the authorities had believed his story, which he had only been able to back up with evidence earlier this year.
However, this was rejected by the district court in Oslo.
"Even if UNE's (the Immigration Appeals Board) refusal of asylum in 2007 was invalid, it will not mean that Kassembo will at any time be treated as if he had had legal residence in Norway," the judgement read.
The Immigration Appeals Board also believed that the documentation provided was not reliable enough to establish that he is from Burundi. Nevertheless, the authorities want to deport him to Burundi as the evidence provided established a country of origin for him to be returned to.
Kassembo and those involved in his fight to stay in Norway have decided to take the case to the Court of Appeal to try to overturn the ruling.
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Suel Kassembo, from Burundi, faces deportation from Norway after the Oslo District Court rejected his appeal to have the deportation decision from Norway's immigration authorities overturned.
The authorities decided to deport him after he clarified his identity years after his initial asylum application was denied. The application had been rejected as authorities could not verify his details at the time.
The court ruled that he would likely not be in danger if he was returned to Burundi.
"The court has ... concluded that Kassembo is not exposed to a real risk of persecution if he returns to Burundi," the judgement stated.
Kassembo claimed he travelled to Norway at the age of 16 as a stowaway aboard a ship after his family were killed in an attack on his childhood home during the civil war in Burundi in 2004.
At the time of his initial asylum application, most applications from those fleeing Burundi were granted due to the "general unsafe security situation" in the country.
The authorities doubted whether Kassembo came from Burundi as he spoke Swahili and not Kirundi, which is the dominant language in Burundi.
His lawyers argued that he would have probably been granted political asylum and residency in 2007 if the authorities had believed his story, which he had only been able to back up with evidence earlier this year.
However, this was rejected by the district court in Oslo.
"Even if UNE's (the Immigration Appeals Board) refusal of asylum in 2007 was invalid, it will not mean that Kassembo will at any time be treated as if he had had legal residence in Norway," the judgement read.
The Immigration Appeals Board also believed that the documentation provided was not reliable enough to establish that he is from Burundi. Nevertheless, the authorities want to deport him to Burundi as the evidence provided established a country of origin for him to be returned to.
Kassembo and those involved in his fight to stay in Norway have decided to take the case to the Court of Appeal to try to overturn the ruling.
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