ASYLUM AUTHORITIES OFFICIAL COUNTERFEITED ID-DOCUMENT
Swiss asylum groups have for a long time pointed at the often unconventional means used by the Federal Office for Refugees in order to enable the deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
The most recent case concerned a Tamil asylum seeker who tried to resist his deportation by refusing to sign a passport issued by the general consulate of Sri Lanka in Geneva upon request of the Swiss authorities. The man's "obstruction" proved in vain. He was deported with a Sri Lankan passport carrying his signature.
Back in Sri Lanka, the man informed Swiss friends who started to investigate the case. They eventualy found that the signature originated with a document held by the Federal Office for Refugees. The signature had been cut out and sent to the Sri Lankan general consulate, thus enabling it to issue the passport.
In the meantime, a criminal procedure has been opened against a senior official of the Federal Office for Refugees. The official is suspected of document counterfeiting.
Sources: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 3.11.95; our sources.