ECHR

The ECHR to Address the Christians Situation in the Middle East

W.K. and M.F. v. Sweden

By ECLJ1450323120000

Update: The ECHR decided "to strike the application out of its list of cases" because:

"on 10 March 2017, the Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) had granted the applicants a new examination of their case. It found that there were new circumstances in the case which could be assumed to constitute lasting impediments to the enforcement of the applicants’ expulsion order. The Government noted that this meant that the applicants would receive a comprehensive examination of the merits of their case, taking into account both the new circumstances and the original reasons for protection relied upon by the applicants."

See the decision of May 23rd, 2017 here.

The Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), SOS Chrétiens d’Orient and the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) have been authorized by the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) to share information about the situation of Christians in Iraq. It was done for a case challenging the refusal of the Swedish authorities to grant asylum to a couple of Iraqi Catholics.

The European Court must decide whether the situation in Iraq allows or not the return of this couple in their home country.

To assist the Court, the ECLJ has partnered with two field organizations: the ACN and SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, to provide recent information and concrete testimonies, reflecting the complexity of local situations. ACN and SOS Chrétiens d’Orient are supporting persecuted Christian communities, in particular by helping them to stay in their country.

In the amicus brief submitted to the Court, these organizations recall the Christian exodus from this country of which they used to constitute 10% of the population two decades ago. They have since been chased by attacks, persecution and especially today by the organization of ISIS. For years, deadly attacks against Christians were daily news in this country. Nowadays, there are simply no more Christians in Mosul.

The brief also contains six recent testimonies of Christians living in Iraq: they tell how their lives have been affected, how they lost their relatives and their property, how they fled the advance of radical Islam, and how the Church is their main and ultimate support.

The ECLJ hopes these observations will enable the Court to take the right measure of the disaster that this country is facing and the living conditions of Christians who are still there, thanks to the help of organizations such as ACN and SOS Chrétiens d’Orients.

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