Norway: Asylum and immigration (1)
01 January 1991
Norway: Asylum and immigration
artdoc April=1995
Fifty reception centres to be closed
The Directorate of Immigration has announced that fifty reception
centres are to be closed down. Norwegian Peoples' Aid has
condemned the decision and the fact that the administration of
refugee centres is to be given over to private businesses who
will operate the centres on commercial lines (Aftenposten
28.7.94).
Fears that refugees are being debarred from fertility programmes
A refugee couple who applied for artificial insemination have
been turned down for `psychosocial' reasons, prompting fears that
refugees and asylum seekers will be excluded from programmes to
help couples have children (Vårt Land 19.8.94).
Discrimination in passport checks
When Edward Brown, a 57-year-old Afro-American with Swedish
citizenship, who has lived in Scandinavia since 1970, travelled
to Norway, he was the only person to be stopped for a passport
check, even though you do not have to carry your passport between
Scandinavian countries if you are a Scandinavian citizen.
Mr. Brown was not carrying his passport but he did have his
passport number on one of his identification papers. Even so he
was taken to the police station, searched, and put in a cell
(Aftenposten 30.6.94).
Punishing arrest by deportation
A man from Turkey, who has lived in Norway for 21 years, is under
threat of deportation. The Directorate of Immigration is
considering deporting the man because he served a 21 day prison
sentence for biting a police officer on the behind during an
attempted arrest in 1992 (Dagbladet 18.9.94).
Police and prisons
Segregated prison scheme prompts prisoner solidarity
One hundred and twenty two of the 135 inmates of Ullersmo prison
have signed a petition against a proposal by the prison governor
to establish a special segregated block for foreign prisoners on
the grounds that it would end the tension that exists between
Norwegian and foreign inmates and that it would prevent
international criminal contacts from being established. The
prisoners say that any tension in the prison is caused by the
authorities itself and not by the skin colour of the inmates
(Arbeiderbladet 16.8.94).
Plight of Algerian highlighted
The plight of an Algerian man who has been held for one year in
custody despite having committed no crime has been highlighted
by his lawyer. The Algerian man has given to the police all the
details they require but refuses to tell them the name of his
parents. Now, his lawyer says, his release is being delayed
because the Algerian authorities won't answer inquiries made by
Norwegian police (Aftenposten 12.8.94).
Raid on Ugandan home leads to criticism
Police officers at a station in Salangen Troms have been accused
of racism after they searched the home of two women from Uganda.
One woman claims she nearly choked when seized by the police and
she was physically abused at the police station (Nordlys
12.7.94).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 11, December 1994. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 0171 837 0041