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Migrants assemble at a collection point at a camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 2020. Photo: IOM Bosnia and Herzegovina on social media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Suspicions have been raised over the circumstances surrounding the recent death of an Erbil man at a Bosnian migrant facility, according to a specialist migrant and asylum seeker news site.
Ahmed Mahmoud Omar, a 53-year-old father of four from Erbil province, died at Sarajevo University Hospital last weekend, according to Balkans outlet N1 news. It is unclear why he left the Kurdistan Region and if an asylum application was being processed.
Peter van der Auweraert, who heads Bosnia and Herzegovina’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Sarajevo, said that Omar died after sustaining injuries in a fight “between two national groups” — said to be Kurds and Pakistanis — at Usivak reception centre, near the Bosnian capital.
InfoMigrants, a news site dedicated to migrants and asylum seekers, has called into question what really happened to Omar.
According to their report, InfoMigrants has been contacted by individuals accusing a guard at the camp of killing Omar – claims which were also shared with der Auweraert on social media.
The IOM official confirmed that an accusation against a security guard has been passed onto the police and a criminal investigation is underway.
“At no point did IOM try to hide what happened, indeed IOM provided the family with support to file a criminal complaint immediately after the events,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that the organization has “zero tolerance” for violence against migrants.
“I asked the Sarajevo police and judiciary to ensure a fair, effective and transparent investigation into the case, in accordance with the procedures and Bosnia's Criminal Code.”
IOM is now exploring options of relocating Omar's family elsewhere, he added.
Situated on a key route to Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen 59,000 refugee and migrant arrivals since 2018, according to the European Union. Concerns have been raised over the country’s past treatment of asylum seekers, where “services are inadequate and tensions are high.”
Aid organisations have been denied entry to migrant facilities since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, preventing them from surveying present risks for the most vulnerable residents.
Ahmed Mahmoud Omar, a 53-year-old father of four from Erbil province, died at Sarajevo University Hospital last weekend, according to Balkans outlet N1 news. It is unclear why he left the Kurdistan Region and if an asylum application was being processed.
Peter van der Auweraert, who heads Bosnia and Herzegovina’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Sarajevo, said that Omar died after sustaining injuries in a fight “between two national groups” — said to be Kurds and Pakistanis — at Usivak reception centre, near the Bosnian capital.
InfoMigrants, a news site dedicated to migrants and asylum seekers, has called into question what really happened to Omar.
According to their report, InfoMigrants has been contacted by individuals accusing a guard at the camp of killing Omar – claims which were also shared with der Auweraert on social media.
The IOM official confirmed that an accusation against a security guard has been passed onto the police and a criminal investigation is underway.
“At no point did IOM try to hide what happened, indeed IOM provided the family with support to file a criminal complaint immediately after the events,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that the organization has “zero tolerance” for violence against migrants.
“I asked the Sarajevo police and judiciary to ensure a fair, effective and transparent investigation into the case, in accordance with the procedures and Bosnia's Criminal Code.”
IOM is now exploring options of relocating Omar's family elsewhere, he added.
Situated on a key route to Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen 59,000 refugee and migrant arrivals since 2018, according to the European Union. Concerns have been raised over the country’s past treatment of asylum seekers, where “services are inadequate and tensions are high.”
Aid organisations have been denied entry to migrant facilities since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, preventing them from surveying present risks for the most vulnerable residents.
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