By Ismail Suleiman Ibrahim Yagoup
I, Ismail Suleiman Ibrahim Yagoup, am writing to you to inform you of the current situation for all Sudanese refugees seeking asylum in Denmark. Our story goes as follows:
Friday Februrary 1st 2013 we were all contacted by the Danish police, informing us to meet up in the Danish asylum center Sandholm, respectively the 4th and 5th of January 2013 to discuss our cases.
Upon arrival in Sandholm, we were driven in cars, accompanied by several policemen, to the police station in Hørsholm. Here we were subsequently interviewed individually. In the room were the interviews took place were two Danish policemen and two men from Sudan; one of these men was from the Sudanese Embassy in Oslo, who the other man was is unclear (he was only represented as being from Oslo). The Sudanese consulate was conducting the interview.
We strongly believe that the interviews went beyond required, as we were to answer questions going beyond confirming our nationality. We were expected to inform our names, age, nationality, phone numbers, our previous addresses in Sudan, on which ground we were applying for asylum, whether this was political asylum or not and so forth. Hereafter crucial information and confidential files in regards to our cases were handed over to the Sudanese Consular.
We strongly believe that a serious violation took place when handing over such files, as the Sudanese Embassy should never get hold of such personal information, taking into consideration their connection to the Sudanese government and authorities who are the core reason for all 14 of us asking for asylum in Denmark.
Therefore we find ourselves in the situation of not only fearing our own safety – particularly if our cases will result in a deportation – but also and maybe more importantly we fear that we have placed our family in Sudan in a dangerous situation that we should never have been placed in.
Two final remarks we would like to stress is that; first of all, the Danish government rejected the Sudanese Vice President to enter Denmark in the Summer 2013 in connection with his visit to Oslo, Norway.
Secondly, one of us has been in contact with the Danish Television (DR 1) and the newspaper Ekstra Bladet. After Ekstra Bladet reacted upon our story it turned out that the Danish Refugee Board (Udlændingestyrelsen) denies to have handed over any information regarding our cases to the Sudanese Embassy, as they are very well aware of which consequences this could lead to.
We sincerely hope to hear from you and strongly urge you to act upon our mail as we find ourselves in a very uncertain situation and need a solution immediately.
Best regards,
Ismail Suleiman Ibrahim Yagoup
on behalf of all the Sudanese refugees applying for asylum in Denmark.
