It was a close call. But by working very hard a group volunteers of AsyLex were able to stop the deportation of two of our clients. Both of them were supposed to be returned to Ethiopia on the 28th of January by a level-4 forced return flight. Within a very tight deadline our team managed to win not only one but both cases in front of international courts. The committees of the United Nations CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) and CAT (Committee Against Torture) issued interim measures to immediately stop the deportation of our clients.
We are still more than happy about outcome and very proud of our team who did an outstanding job. In the meantime, we are left bewildered to report that the return flight still took place. Several people like Tahir Telma, Arkisso Solomon, Teklu Feyisa others were therfore forcefully deported a country where their lives could be at risk. Tahir even was on a hunger and thirst strike and had to be picked up from the hospital in order to deport him: https://migrant-solidarity-network.ch/2021/01/27/tahir-telma-arkisso-solomon-teklu-feyisa-und-weitere-menschen-wurden-heute-abend-zwangsausgeschafft/?fbclid=IwAR3l6_b2wiFWtS3oYRioan6nGFbmD2UqdLmb_NaICzfPGgoD7In4ftnJqak [Trigger warning: Picture of a fixed person].
With this desicion the Swiss authorities actively ignored the current situation in Ethiopia, the recent decisions by the United Nations Committees, expressed concerns from several human rights organizations and lawyers as well as people protesting on the streets. We call on the Swiss authorities and courts to immediately reconsider any forced return to Ethiopia!
Before the flight took place, we also talked to das Lamm.
Make sure to also read the Migrant-Solidarity-Network 's analysis about the unequal media coverage between the French- and German-speaking Switzerland: https://migrant-solidarity-network.ch/2021/01/28/aethiopiensonderflug-ungleiche-medienberichte-in-der-deutschschweiz-und-romandie/?fbclid=IwAR0kaQ5G7tsy9s3bxYrgeGVbYOf_6PexcZRdvwWlc2e2Ofqm2KghGWRgEYM
