World

Asylum seeker murdered after being returned to Darfur

by Amy Judd | March 18, 2009 at 03:12 pm

265 views | 56 Recommendations | 6 comments

Adam Osman Mohammed was seeking asylum in the UK when his application was rejected to stay and he was returned to Darfur, a region in the Sudan, under a British government repatriation scheme; he was murdered days after his arrival in front of his young son and wife.

Mohammed was a non-Arab Darfuri, and so was targeted by the Janjaweed in his home country, and forced to leave his home with his wife and child. He was separated from them and then escaped to Chad and then the UK in 2005.

His appeal for asylum was turned down and in August he was flown back to Khartoum, where he stayed for a few months. When he thought it was safe he travelled to Darfur to see his family again.

Mr Mohammed's cousin, Mohamed Elzaki Obubeker, who is chairman of the Darfur Union in the UK, said: "The government security forces had followed him to another village, Calgoo, where his wife and child had sought help. They came to the village to find him and then targeted him. They shot him in front of his wife and son."

The case is to be used by asylum campaigners to counter Home Office attempts to lift the ban on the removal and deportation to Sudan of failed asylum-seekers.

Human Rights Groups are now trying to let governments know that if people are returned to the Sudan, they will most certainly face imprisonment, torture and most likely, death.
Should governments be allowed to sent people back to a country where there is a known genocide taking place?
Last July the Home Office did say that they were going to stop returning non-Arab Darfuris to their country until it was deemed safe to do so, but that was too late for Mr. Mohammed.
Non-Arab tribes are targeted in Darfur because they are not Arabs; it is considered a method of ethnic cleansing.

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Pythiian1

at 20:10 on March 18th, 2009

Thank you, Amy, for covering this awful news as I read about it earlier.

I'm not passing judgment on another country's policy, but I find it so tragic that this poor man was not granted asylum, given the goings-on in Sudan. Surely, someone must know about the ethnic cleansing policy of the Bashir government?

Paschen

at 17:14 on March 18th, 2009

Ravi Dixit

at 20:28 on March 18th, 2009

When the stakes are so high, every rejection should consider the consequences.

Amitjha

at 23:54 on March 18th, 2009

How tragic it is...you ask for help and you are thrown back to hell.

sara star

at 07:45 on March 19th, 2009

Nothing short of murder by both countries.

Pythiian1

at 19:52 on March 19th, 2009

Given the tragic end to Mr. Mohammed who was sent back to Sudan, I understand that Britain is currently reviewing the possibility of repatriating 2,000 to 3,000 Darfuris who are currently living in Britain - back to Sudan.