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Switzerland returns three offenders to Ukraine

Switzerland returns three offenders to Ukraine
Switzerland returns three offenders to Ukraine Keystone-SDA

Switzerland has deported three convicted Ukrainian criminals to their country of origin. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) confirmed the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper report to the news agency Keystone-SDA.

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SEM confirms the return of three people on Wednesday by special flight. These are convicted criminals who are facing expulsion from the country. For reasons of data protection and privacy, it is not possible to provide any further information on these individuals.

The repatriation of the three Ukrainian offenders is the first since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, writes the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in its Thursday edition. It is possible that these individuals may now be called up for military service.

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SEM states that it is not necessary to examine the reasonableness of returning convicted criminals who have been expelled from the country. Admissibility, i.e. whether the person is at risk of persecution or serious human rights violations, must be taken into account.

Removal is only carried out if the person concerned does not face such risks. In this context, military service is not an obstacle.

The recent deportation to their country of origin of two Afghans who had been convicted and sentenced to death caused quite a stir. This was the first repatriation by Switzerland since the Taliban took power in August 2021. According to SEM, these were delinquents who represented a problem for Switzerland’s internal security.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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