Deportation to Afghanistan ruled out
The Federal Court says the humanitarian situation in most regions of Afghanistan is too critical to send back asylum seekers whose requests were rejected by Switzerland.
A court statement said security had deteriorated in all regions of Afghanistan over the past few years.
It added the return of an asylum seeker to the capital, Kabul, was only appropriate in the case of someone in good health and with a stable network of family and friends.
In a ruling published on Thursday, judges decided to grant a rejected asylum seeker from the southwestern Daykundi province temporary residence status.
The non-governmental Swiss Refugee Council said the decision was “overdue”.
There are about 1,000 Afghan asylum seekers whose stay in Switzerland could be affected by the court decision. Another 1,300 people already benefit from temporary residence status, according to the Federal Migration Office.
More than 300 new requests were lodged in the first five months of the year.
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