Alert: Charter Deportation to Nigeria

Warning by Afrique-Europe Interact:

“Warning to whom it may concern: Mass deportation from Austria to Nigeria planned between 4th and 6th of April 2017

For the time between 4th and 6th of April 2017, a mass deportation flight to deport mainly Nigerian citizens from Austria to Nigeria is supposed to take place. We recommend you to be on alert if you are potentially concerned of this mass deportation. We also ask you to pass this information on to family members, friends and people within your community who are potentially concerned.

Who may be concerned by a charter mass deportation flight to Nigeria:

-Generally persons who have had a definite negative result of their asylum case.
-People living in Austria under undocumented, irregular conditions.
-The risk is generally higher if someone is already under severe pressure from the authorities to leave Austria.
-Trouble with Austrian law enforcement authorities and having a criminal case on one’s record can increase the risk of deportation, but people who have never had any such problems are also concerned.

Situations of high risk to get arrested for deportation:
-If people regularly have to show up at the police station due to so-called “gelinderes Mittel” imposed on them.
-For people under deportation threat, it is dangerous to get in a situation of “racial profiling” police controls. Such racist controls are common at certain places like railway stations, but also at some other police control hotspots, like metro stations of U6. People under deportation threat should be aware of the danger of visiting such places, especially with a mass deportation on the way.
-The “Meldeadresse”, as an officially registered address, is the place where the police will show up first if they are searching for you for deportation.

How to avoid deportation:
-Be aware of the potential dangers (see points above).
-Inform your lawyer, your friends, your family members etc. if you are under deportation threat, so that they can try to support you in case you get arrested.
-If you have new information about any risks of persecution in your home country, you can use this to make a new asylum application.
-If you are suffering from severe physical diseases or mental troubles, get it confirmed by a doctor and present it as a reason against being deported.
-In case that you are already arrested, you have the right to demand for a phone call to inform your people and your lawyer.
-On a normal passengers’ flight, you have lots of ways to resist: declare you are not willing to fly, demand to talk to the pilot, refuse to sit down on your seat, involve other passengers, struggle physically if necessary. But: all this does not work out on a charter flight mass deportation with lots of police inside.
-Some people managed to get out of the deportation prison due to critical health conditions resulting from hunger strike etc. But be aware that a hunger strike can be very harmful for one’s health – everyone must decide for himself/herself what level of resistance is possible for her/him.
-In general: Don’t hide your problem of deportation threat to yourself, share your problem with other people, get organized against deportation!

Such deportation flights from Vienna to Lagos repeatedly took place throughout the last years, with the police committing violent abuse according to reports of victims who were deported.”