MINELRES: ERRC: Germany Forcibly Expels Suicidal Woman to Belgrade

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Centre <errc@errc.org>


Husband Committed Suicide in 2002

Deportation Implemented Despite ERRC Appeal

16 August 2006, Budapest, Berlin: Ignoring a direct appeal to stay
expulsion as well as compelling evidence concerning her extreme
psychological state, Berlin authorities today forcibly expelled a Muslim
Romani woman and her four children to Serbia.

The ERRC received information on 14 August from the Berlin-based
non-governmental organization Initiative Against Expulsion Detention
(Initiative gegen Abschiebehaft) concerning the planned forced expulsion
from Germany of Ms. K.T. and her five children, aged 7-16 years. The
family are Muslim Romani, a particularly 
threatened group in predominantly Christian Serbia. Ms. K.T.'s husband -
the father of her five children - committed suicide by hanging in 2002
out of fear of expulsion from Germany. Ms. K.T. has raised her children
alone since then.

Ms. K.T. reportedly has severe psychological problems for which she has
undergone psychological treatment for years in Berlin. According to her
psychologist, she is extremely unstable. In situations of stress, she
develops attacks of hyperventilation, and experiences convulsions of her
hands, arms, feet and legs. Moreover she has reported that she has a
mental image her dead husband hanging in front of her eyes and that she
thinks constantly of how to commit suicide herself. In addition, Ms.
K.T.'s 16-year-old daughter L.T. has told her mother's therapist that
she herself thought continuously of her dead father, and that her main
fear was that her mother would also commit suicide. Ms. K.T. has been
hospitalized in Berlin on several occasions due to her psychological
illness, most recently from 22 to 28 June 2006.

The Berlin court reviewing Ms. K.T.'s appeals to be allowed to remain in
Germany with her children refused to recognize her psychological
illness, despite the testimony of medical professionals to the effect
that her condition is very serious.

In a letter faxed to Berlin Interior Minister Dr. Ehrhart K�rting on 15
August, the ERRC urged Senator K�rting to:

(1) Intervene to stop the forced expulsion of Ms. K.T. and her children
from Germany; and

(2) Ensure that, without delay, they are provided with a residence
permit securing durable and long-term stay in Germany, such that she may
seek and receive treatment for her condition without the further
arbitrary application of undue pressure.

The ERRC noted that forcibly expelling Ms. K.T. would be cruel and
degrading, and would therefore contravene Article 3 of the European
Convention on Human Rights and related international law provisions by
which Germany is bound.

The ERRC noted that if expelled to Serbia, Ms. K.T. would have extremely
limited or no access at all to medical and psychological treatment
needed to address her psychological condition, and if she were able to
avail herself of such treatment at all, it would be of a standard
inadequate to address her condition.

The ERRC further noted that Ms. K.T. would also face extreme exclusion
based on the compounded effects of being Romani and Muslim in Serbia,
and may in addition be exposed to physical attack as a result of her
ethnicity and/or religion.

The ERRC requested to be availed of any and all actions undertaken by
Senator K�rting in this regard.

On 16 August, flagrantly disregarding the ERRC appeal, German
authorities forcibly expelled Ms. K.T. and her children to Belgrade.

Persons wishing to express disgust at the expulsion are urged to
contact:

Senator f�r Inneres Dr. Ehrhart K�rting
Minister of Interior for Berlin
Klosterstra�e 47
10179 Berlin
Germany
Fax: (030) 9027-2715
E-Mail: senator@seninn.verwalt-berlin.de

Further information on Germany's policies and practices preventing the
integration of dark-skinned foreigners, as well as on serial and
systemic expulsions of Roma to a number of countries, including in
particular Serbia and Montenegro, is available at:
http://www.errc.org/db/01/08/m00000108.pdf.

Notes:

* "K.T." and "L.T." are not the real initials of the persons concerned.
The ERRC is in possession of the names and contact information of the
persons concerned. The ERRC would be prepared to release these if the
interests of justice so require.

* The Interior Minister of Berlin is addressed by the honorific title
"Senator".

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Centre, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Centre
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary

Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax: +36 1 4132201
_____________________________________________

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