A RULING BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ECHR) has forced the Finnish Immigration Service, the Migri, to review its processes for deportations, as well as the asylum applications currently under review. The ECHR ruled last week that a number of deportations conducted by the Finnish authorities were "illegal" and in breach of international law.
The ECHR's scrutiny was in part prompted by the case of an asylum seeker deported from Finland back to his native Iraq in 2017, who was killed by suspected militants shortly after his arrival in the country. Iraqi citizens make up the largest cohort of asylum seekers in Finland by a considerable stretch, with more than 1500 Iraqis lodging applications that same year.
There are 500 asylum applications that the Migri is required to review in line with the ECHR's ruling, with the expectation likely being that the Migri will have to reconsider what constitutes a "safe" country for return.
In response to the ruling, the Director-General of the Migri, Jaana Vuorio, said that the department takes the ruling "very seriously". A press release on the Migri's website claims that the ECHR's ruling "will be closely observed in all activities" and will be taken into account when reassessing asylum claims.
Adam Oliver Smith - HT
Image Credit: Lehtikuva
