From bed to plane: The story of the Batish family, who were suddenly and forcibly deported from Denmark on election day

Danish activists sympathetic to migrants and refugees in Denmark circulated news of Denmark's forced deportation of an Arab family. The elderly parents were forced onto a plane with their five children. This is their story as reported by the French website L'Orient-Le Jour, which published the article in French and then republished it in English. The article stated:

“Seven members of the Batish family, who had been seeking asylum in Denmark since 2015, were returned to Beirut on November 1st. Confusion surrounding this case continues.

Khadija Bteich, 65, and Ahmed Bteich, 78, were sleeping peacefully in their room at their home in Tønder, a small town in southern Denmark, when police knocked on their door. The couple and five of their children were returned to Lebanon on the same day, November 1. Khadija and Ahmed claim to be Syrian, but Danish authorities and Lebanese sources say they are Lebanese.

The story of this family and their forced deportation made headlines in Denmark and angered human rights organizations.

The country's leading daily newspaper, Politiken, followed the Batish family's efforts to obtain asylum before the Refugee Council rejected them.

The residence permit of the couple and five of their children was cancelled during the summer, and by order of the court they were all transferred to a departure center for rejected asylum seekers, the Kærshovedgård center (in Jutland).

Two of the couple's children reside legally in Denmark. L'Orient-Le Jour was unable to contact them.

The treatment of the elderly couple, who were suffering from serious health problems, sparked a public outcry.

According to Politiken journalist Frank Hevelsom, who spoke to L'Orient-Le Jour, Khadija Nahouli suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, dizziness, persistent headaches, severe injury, urinary incontinence, and diabetes.

Her husband suffers from dementia, kidney disease, cognitive impairment, visual impairment, and difficulty walking.

According to Politiken's report, Ismail Batish, one of the couple's sons, spent 16 nights in his car in October lobbying for his parents to be moved from the deportation center to a nursing home where they could receive proper care.

“It is shameful and inhumane to drag the elderly and sick from their beds in the middle of the night,” Haifa Awad, a Syrian-Danish doctor and head of the Danish NGO ActionAid, told L’Orient-Le Jour. .

It is extremely harsh, but under Danish law you can be forcibly deported, family lawyer Gette Lindgaard told L'Orient-Le Jour: "Danish soldiers have the right to send them out of Denmark." .

Damascus refugees

The timing of this expulsion also raises some questions.

“The authorities made the decision [to deport the family] on the day of the Danish [parliamentary] elections, and perhaps that was not a coincidence. Haifa Awad said: “But everyone, including the media, was preoccupied with the elections.”.

Denmark’s outgoing Prime Minister and Social Democratic Party leader Mette Frederiksen came in first on Tuesday with 27.5% of the vote (compared to 25.5% in 2019).

Last year, Denmark tightened its immigration policy and renewed its determination to deport Syrian refugees coming from Damascus and its suburbs.

This controversial decision is not unprecedented. In 2019, Denmark designated Damascus as “safe” and reviewed the cases of hundreds of refugees.

For Copenhagen, “the current situation in Damascus is no longer a justification for a residence permit or an extension of a residence permit.”.

While the Danish government, which has not normalized relations with Damascus, cannot forcibly return Syrian refugees without residence permits, they face two options: they can either return to Syria voluntarily with compensation of around $28,000 or remain indefinitely in “deportation camps,” as activists call them.

The Batish family, who claim to be Syrians from Damascus, refused to return to Syria, so they were forcibly deported to Lebanon because Danish authorities claim they hold Lebanese citizenship.

A spokesperson for the Danish Return Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, told the newspaper: “The seven people who were returned to Lebanon on November 1 were all Lebanese citizens residing illegally in Denmark.”.

According to local media reports, Danish authorities believe that Father Ahmad Batish obtained a Lebanese passport while his family was living in a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, and is therefore both Lebanese and Syrian.

It is true that some Syrian citizens have obtained Lebanese citizenship in recent years, but this has been limited to businessmen with significant interests in Lebanon and strong political ties.

According to these criteria, it seems unlikely that a Syrian family living in a refugee camp had obtained Lebanese citizenship.

They are Syrian citizens, and the Danish authorities know this. They consider them to have dual nationality, and that is why they were sent back to Lebanon,” explained Lindegaard, the family’s lawyer.

Born in Syria

This suspicious situation fueled theories in Denmark about a secret agreement between Lebanon and Denmark. Suspicions intensified because Danish authorities refused to provide Lindgaard with documents proving that the family actually held Lebanese citizenship.

From the Lebanese side, the issue appears to be causing embarrassment. None of the Lebanese officials interviewed about this story wished to be named.

A security source confirmed that all members of the Batish family do indeed hold Lebanese citizenship.

Another Lebanese diplomatic source told L'Orient-Le Jour that the parents “were born in Syria but hold Lebanese citizenship.”.

The diplomatic source stressed that “the Lebanese authorities would not have accepted their return to the country if they were only Syrians.”.

The Lebanese government is now actively working on its plan to repatriate 15,000 refugees per month, which began last week with the departure of more than 750 people.

Did the Batish family commit fraud by not disclosing their Lebanese nationality to the Danish authorities, or are they victims of a deal: returning them to Lebanon in exchange for financial compensation to the Lebanese government?

In Denmark, both hypotheses are now being considered. L'Orient-Le Jour attempted to contact members of the Batich family currently in Lebanon, but without success.

This story was originally published in French in the newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, and translated by Sahar Ghosoub.”

I finish.