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Kurdish migrant Rebwar Sleman says he was accused of extremism in Latvia. Photo: submitted to Rudaw by family member
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish migrant told Rudaw on Sunday that he was detained and put on trial on charges of “religious extremism” in Latvia and seeks deportation to the Kurdistan Region.
Rebwar Sleman from Ranya district’s Kani Maran village said in an interview with Rudaw Radio that Latvian authorities have accused him of Islamic extremism.
“They alleged all sorts of things,” he said. “They said you’re a religious extremist … you can’t go out, you can’t be mixed with anyone from Latvia, you have to be constantly under Latvia’s security observation.”
Sleman boarded a plane from Baghdad to Belarus in June, but says he has been detained “in a camp that is like a prison” in Latvia for four months.
“They put me on trial and said...we might keep you here for a year under Latvia’s security,” he said.
Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have tried to cross into the European Union from Belarus in recent months. The European Union has accused Belarus of pushing migrants to their borders in protest of sanctions imposed in response to a crackdown on dissent by the regime in Minsk. Belarus’ neighbors have responded by bolstering security on their borders.
Polish authorities in September said they found evidence of ties to extremist groups on the phones of some migrants detained along its border with Belarus and plans to extend a state of emergency.
Sleman, who said he was living a “miserable” life working as a construction worker in his hometown, calls to be sent back home.
“Our demand is that they deport us,” he said. “We don’t want anything else.”
Additional reporting by: Jutyar Qaraman
Rebwar Sleman from Ranya district’s Kani Maran village said in an interview with Rudaw Radio that Latvian authorities have accused him of Islamic extremism.
“They alleged all sorts of things,” he said. “They said you’re a religious extremist … you can’t go out, you can’t be mixed with anyone from Latvia, you have to be constantly under Latvia’s security observation.”
Sleman boarded a plane from Baghdad to Belarus in June, but says he has been detained “in a camp that is like a prison” in Latvia for four months.
“They put me on trial and said...we might keep you here for a year under Latvia’s security,” he said.
Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have tried to cross into the European Union from Belarus in recent months. The European Union has accused Belarus of pushing migrants to their borders in protest of sanctions imposed in response to a crackdown on dissent by the regime in Minsk. Belarus’ neighbors have responded by bolstering security on their borders.
Polish authorities in September said they found evidence of ties to extremist groups on the phones of some migrants detained along its border with Belarus and plans to extend a state of emergency.
Sleman, who said he was living a “miserable” life working as a construction worker in his hometown, calls to be sent back home.
“Our demand is that they deport us,” he said. “We don’t want anything else.”
Additional reporting by: Jutyar Qaraman
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