Sudanese Student Faces Airport Limbo in Kazakhstan
Photo: KMBHR Facebook page
A 20-year-old student from Sudan faces the risk of being stuck in the transit zone at Almaty airport for an extended period. Due to the ongoing military conflict in his homeland, the young man is unable to leave the country, Orda.kz reports.
According to the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, the student, Amir, arrived in Almaty about two years ago to attend university.
Shortly after, an armed conflict erupted in Sudan between government forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group:
The capital Khartoum was captured, young people were forcibly conscripted, Amir's house was destroyed, his parents became internally displaced and could no longer pay for his education,
human rights activists explained.
Amir could not return home — he lacked the necessary funds, and Sudan’s airports had long been shut down. He applied for asylum in Kazakhstan but was denied, meaning he faced deportation.
Kazakhstan rarely grants refugee status to foreigners, despite existing laws and international obligations.
All three courts decided to deport him, despite the fact that the UNHCR office was ready to pay for his education given his refugee status,
stated the KMBHR.
The court ruled that Amir had to leave the country by May 1.
Supporters raised funds for his ticket, and it was decided to send him to Rwanda — one of the few countries where Sudanese citizens can enter without a visa and that has a refugee program.
However, when he arrived at the Rwandan airport, officials unexpectedly refused to accept Amir’s documents. He was immediately put on a flight to Qatar, his transit point. In Doha, the student was again put on a flight back to Almaty.
In Kazakhstan, Amir was taken off the plane, they did not talk to him and bought him a return ticket at their own expense on the same airlines to return him to Doha again. However, as it turned out, the airline does not intend to let him back into Qatar, so Amir may get stuck in the Almaty airport for a long time, as already happened (with the Palestinian Mohammed Albahish in 2013. - Ed.),
the KMBHR writes.
Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova
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