Police Arrest Dozens of Demonstrators in Sweden Amid Planned Deportations to Iraq
STOCKHOLM (CP) -- Some 70 protesters were arrested in southwestern Sweden Tuesday after they tried to stop the deportation of a group of Iraqis, a move that has drawn criticism from human rights groups and the U.N. refugee agency. The arrest was made just after midnight outside a migration board facility close to Sweden's second-biggest city, Goteborg, where about a hundred demonstrators were protesting the expulsion of the Iraqi refugees. "We had to remove at least three cars that were blocking the way," police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg said. Other activists used their bodies in an attempt to prevent three transport vehicles transporting the refugees from leaving the facility. Some 70 of the 100 demonstrators were arrested, he said. According to authorities, four Iraqis were being transported in the blocked vehicles, which were reportedly headed for Stockholm from where the refugees are expected to be expelled. Migration Board spokesman Leif Andersson confirmed that a plane with those expelled from the country is due to take off from Sweden to Iraq on Wednesday. The planned deportations have been criticized by several human rights groups, including Amnesty International in Sweden, which on Monday urged the country to stop the forced returns, citing the risk of persecution upon their arrival in Iraq. "Amnesty directs heavy criticism toward Sweden in its insistence on its policy to forcefully expel Iraqis that have had their asylum applications rejected," the group said in a statement. In a separate statement Tuesday, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was "very concerned" about reports suggesting Sweden is sending 25 Iraqis back to Baghdad on Wednesday. It said some of them "belong to religious and ethnic groups targeted by violence in Iraq." The agency said it felt "troubled" that Sweden has ignored its previous advise to refrain from similar deportations and for not considering the security situation in Iraq. Specifically dangerous areas include Baghdad, Diyala, Ninewa and Salah Ad Din and the Kirkuk province, it said. "We understand that many of those being returned on Wednesday come from these areas," UNHCR said. Swedish Migration Minister Tobias Billstrom said the decisions to expel them follows a judicial process, where each case is reviewed individually. "A person who has received a no is expected to leave the country," Billstrom told The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview.