Israel coerces Africans to sign "voluntary repatriation" forms | The Electronic Intifada

15.3.13

Israel coerces Africans to sign "voluntary repatriation" forms | The Electronic Intifada: TEL AVIV (IRIN) - Testimonies of jailed Eritrean migrants and asylum seekers say Israeli officials at Saharonim prison in the southern Negev desert are coercing them to sign “voluntary repatriation” forms.

In one of the many testimonies collected by a local organization, a 28-year-old Eritrean detainee reported being repeatedly visited by a translator telling her to accept deportation to a third country (Uganda).

“He said we would not be freed from the prison and we can only go to Uganda or Eritrea. I was frustrated and depressed. I do not want to go to Uganda. Today they called me and gave me a handwritten form in Tigrinya which said: `I came from Eritrea to Israel illegally and now I want to go to Uganda voluntarily. To do this I would like the Eritrean embassy to issue me a passport and all the necessary documents.’ They asked me to sign it and wanted to take my picture on video. I refused.”