Klikaktiv’s appeal to a MoI’s decision on return of a Tunisian citizen has been accepted
In our most recent report which refers to the second quartal of 2022 "The second quarterly report (April-June)" (available on the website and here), we wrote about a strategic legal case in which we filed an appeal to decision to return B.M., a citizen of Tunisia.
In April 2022, B.M. was returned from Hungary to Serbia based on a Readmission Agreement of Persons who are staying illegally which was signed between EU and Serbia back in 2007. According to the agreement, EU member states can return third country nationals back to Serbia’s territory if it can be established that the person entered the territory of the EU member state directly from Serbia.
Serbia’s Ministry of Interior accepted Hungary’s request to accept back on its territory B.M., but instead of providing him access to the asylum system and protection, a police department in Kikinda (a city in Vojvodina, in the north of Serbia) issued him with cancellation of stay in which he was ordered to leave the territory of Serbia in the period of 7 days.
B.M. did not have access to an interpreter, nor legal aid during the procedure. The Klikaktiv team met him during one of our regular field work visits to informal settlements in the north of Serbia. Klikaktiv appealed to the decision on his behalf, and the appeal was accepted in a second degree legal process, while the first degree decision was cancelled based on it being not based on sound and sufficient argumentation and that it is unclear if B.M. had access to an interpreter during the primary process.
We highlight this dangerous practice and the double standards of state institutions of the Republic of Serbia. On the one hand, the Ministry of Interior accept EU member states’ requests and receives back on its territory the third country national, while on the other hand right upon their arrival issues them with cancellation of stay, which prevents them to access the country’s asylum system and protection, but pushes them again to the hands of smugglers and continuous attempt to access EU territory.
