An Algerian Guantánamo detainee has been given a second chance to have his asylum request considered by the Swiss authorities.
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The Federal Migration Office must now re-examine the file after the Federal Administrative Court accepted the man’s appeal.
The Algerian, who has been held at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2002 after being detained in Pakistan, submitted an asylum application to Switzerland in July 2008.
US investigators accuse the man of having been active within an armed group linked to Al-Qaida. However the accused claims he was undertaking voluntary work for a humanitarian organisation.
A complaint against the legality of his detention is currently before the American courts.
The Federal Migration Office gave insufficient grounds for its refusal of the Algerian’s initial application, the administrative court judges in Bern found.
Earlier this week an Uzbek national, currently being held in Guantánamo, was granted asylum by the Swiss authorities. Two other cases are still being considered by the Swiss court.
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The government, which at one point had looked at accepting three prisoners, said it would allow the Uzbek national to live in Switzerland for “humanitarian reasons”. Canton Geneva has said it is prepared to accept the man. The terms of acceptance are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding that was negotiated with the United States…
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Calmy-Rey also discusses the major challenges of defending international humanitarian law. Interviewed on the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, she says that for her the Red Cross represents “a humanitarian ideal”. She also said Switzerland was prepared to receive “one or two” former detainees of the Guantanamo camp constructed by…
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His moving images of refugees turn our attention to a problem becoming ever more noticeable in Switzerland. Over several months, Pulawski documented the hardships of newly-arrived asylum seekers arriving at the Italian-speaking border town of Chiasso from Italy.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.