Kurdish family in Iceland to be detained, deported back to Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish family who sought asylum in Iceland are set to be detained on Monday and eventually sent back to Iraq.

The family arrived in Iceland nearly a year ago after paying off traffickers to smuggle them through Turkey and Norway.

The Sabre family had applied for asylum in Iceland, but the Directorate of Immigration rejected their application.

The family is expected to be taken into custody and sent back to Norway, where Norwegian authorities will deport them back to Iraq.

According to the Reykjavik Grapevine newspaper in Iceland, Norway regularly deports people fleeing Iraq because officials “consider the country to be safe.”

The father of the family, Bejan, said he worked as a police officer in Iraq, adding his family will face threats of "kidnapping, rape, and death" if they are to return.

“I did my job, but unfortunately when you do this in Iraq, you face the unexpected,” he said.

“Then you have to think about your position. This is what happened to me,” Bejan continued.

“Here in Iceland, there are very nice people,” his eldest daughter Zhakou explained. “We are safe here, but we are not certain.”

“We cannot go back,” she added. “I am not ready to go back to the same problem we left everything for.”

Zhakou also mentioned her family would “be in danger” if they are sent back to Iraq.

According to friends of the family, the Sabres are “incredibly distressed,” but will not protest or resist.

The family is currently seeking legal help to appeal their case in court.

Editing by G.H. Renaud