DENMARK: New detention rules for asylum seekers
01 May 2001
With one of the last laws passed through the Danish parliament before the summer break the government won a majority for its proposal to amend the Aliens Act regarding the detention of asylum seekers. According to the new rules an asylum seeker who has been convicted of a crime while staying in Denmark during the processing of an asylum application can be imprisoned for as long as it takes for the authorities to process the case. The kind of crimes that can now lead to imprisonment include all violations of the Penal Code, including shoplifting and theft. If an asylum seeker is caught shoplifting valuables in excess of 500 Dkr. the prosecution can now ask for a prison sentence. This kind of penalty will only be applied to asylum seekers and not citizens or residents of Denmark who, in similar situations, will be given a fine at the most.
The new rules are justified by perceived problems with asylum seekers from Moldavia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia over the past two years. According to police sources and asylum administrators organised networks of people from these countries are involved in organised criminal activities in Denmark. When arrested they apply for asylum and are sent to a centre where the authorities are obliged to consider their application. It is claimed that some continue their criminal activities, controlling extortion rackets in the centres among the other asylum seekers.
The government's proposals exploit these allegations in an attempt to boost their poor ratings in the opinion polls. Some critics of the amendment, both in parliament and among non-governmental organisations, suggest that the problems could be brought under control by using a faster-track procedure for this particular group of asylum seekers. They say that the government is only using the "popular" tough on crime approach to polish its own image in the light of pressure from the populist Danish Peoples Party and other right-wing parties.
A more likely explanation for the government's enthusiasm is buried in other parts of the amendment. Namely, the section that makes it possible to detain asylum seekers if they don't provide the police with satisfactory information about their travel routes and the smugglers who helped them enter Denmark. Given that legal entry to Denmark with a visa is practically impossible nowadays - a policy coordinated with Schengen - asylum seekers have little option but to use human smugglers to enter Fortress Europe. Thereafter, they may be forced into criminal activities in order to repay the money that they have been charged.
During the debate on the amendment critics pointed out that this situation is a self?imposed problem that could be minimised by loosening the visa rules now in force and lifting the carrier sanctions imposed on transport companies. In using the current provisions of the amendment to the Aliens Act the government treats asylum seekers as hostages in a practice for which it is responsible.