Sweden wants to deport a 10-year old Kurdish girl to Turkey

Buket was abandoned by her mother when she was a baby. Her father went to Sweden and, after his asylum application was rejected, placed the child in the care of an aunt living in Stockholm. Since then he has disappeared.

Swedish migration authority wants to deport ten-year-old Buket to Turkey alone. The Kurdish girl has lived in Stockholm for six years. 

70,000 people in Sweden have criticized the decision and called for the deportation to be suspended.

The Buket case came to light when the Aftonbladet reported in June that the ten-year-old application had been rejected and she was to be sent alone to Turkey, where she has no relatives. Her classmates protested against the decision and a nationwide signature campaign was started. Christian Democratic MP Magnus Jacobsson raised the issue with a question in parliament.

According to the Aftonbladet, Buket was abandoned by her mother when she was a baby. Her father went to Sweden and, after his asylum application was rejected, placed the child in the care of an aunt living in Stockholm. Since then he has disappeared.

In June an application was made to the migration authorities to suspend the deportation of Buket. This week the Office refused to reopen the case. This means that deportation is possible at any time.

Irfan Kök, husband of Buket's aunt's, described the migration authority's decision to Aftonbladed as "terrible". Previously there was still hope, now the family does not know what to do next.

The Swedish public, reacted to the plan to deport a ten-year-old to Turkey alone with anger and horror. 70,000 people have so far joined the signature campaign launched in June for the right of Buket to stay.

In April, Kurdish activist Resul Özdemir was extradited from Sweden to Turkey on a special flight. Özdemir was injured during the curfew in Cizre in 2015/2016 and applied for political asylum in Sweden. The asylum application was refused and Özdemir was severely tortured after being deported to Turkey.