Large protests at Düsseldorf airport were carried out as crowds demanded that the estimated 100 Tamil asylum seekers who were detained by German authorities be released.
Four detained Tamil asylum seekers from Baden Württemberg, South Germany were released last minute at Düsseldorf airport and sent home by train. Despite ongoing reports of torture by Sri Lanka’s security forces, 31 Tamil asylum seekers were deported today.
LIVE - German Tamils have joined protesters from across the country in demanding the government immediately halt all deportations of Tamils to Sri Lanka.
Almost 100 Tamils were detained in a series of raids last week.
They were scheduled to be deported today. pic.twitter.com/hojszibIn5
— Tamil Guardian (@TamilGuardian) March 30, 2021
One of the demonstrators who spoke at the rally said:
“This is unacceptable. It is for our future. I will say it again, it is for our children...This is genocide. What is happening here is a completely dirty political game.
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These protests follow the mass detention of Tamil refugees across the country, mainly in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Baden-Württemberg. In outcry, German Tamils held protests in Büren, Pforzheim, Berlin and Düsseldorf which were attended by hundreds of people.
As well as raiding homes, authorities reportedly invited asylum seekers to renew their permits to remain but upon arrival at the building, they were detained by police officers, who confiscated their phones and prevented them from communicating with their relatives and loved ones. Many families still do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones who have been detained.
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