Middle East News
Swedish protests against repatriation of Iraqi refugees
Feb 16, 2011, 10:00 GMT
Stockholm - Police Wednesday briefly detained 16 activists who attempted to block the entrance to an asylum centre in western Sweden to prevent a pending repatriation of 16 Iraqi refugees.
About 90 activists took part in the overnight protest, police said. Noone was injured.
The Iraqi asylum seekers were taken to Gothenburg airport where a plane departed for Baghdad. Some 15 protesters staged a peaceful protest at the airport that serves the west coast city.
A similar repatriation last month was criticized by various international agencies including the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, citing fears that the refugees would be returned to areas where Christians and other minorities have recently come under attack.
Swedish churches, human rights groups, and members of the opposition have also protested against the repatriations.
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