I face a real risk of persecution - Minister ordered to release asylum seeker - Pretoria News
The Minister of Home Affairs has been ordered by thePretoria High Court to immediately release an asylum seeker from of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo who is being held at the Lindela HoldingFacility in Krugersdorp.
Max Boziss, 28, desperately tried to renew hisasylum seeker temporary permit, but long queues at the department prevented himfrom doing so in time. It was stated in court papers that Boziss visited theHome Affairs offices in Johannesburg on eight occasions in two weeks. He waseach time unable even to gain access to the building due to the longqueues.
After waiting in the queue day after day, security personnel onevery occasion told him late in the afternoon that he had to return the nextday. Fearing arrest, detention and deportation as his temporary permit hadexpired, and the refusal of access to the refugees' reception official for arenewal, he eventually went to the Rosebank police station to make an affidavitregarding his attempts to renew his permit.
On December 18 last year he waswalking in Parkhurst when he was stopped by a police officer and asked for hisdocuments. Boziss produced his expired asylum permit, together with his swornaffidavit. He was told that because his permit had expired, he was anillegal immigrant and was arrested.
Boziss said that at Lindela he was exposedto the risk of deportation daily. "I face a real risk of persecution if Iam forced to return to my country of origin," he said in a statementbefore court. He had tried to follow the letter of the law in renewinghis permit and it was not his fault that he could not get into the offices ofHome Affairs to do this.
Lawyers for Human Rights, assisting Boziss in hisapplication, said that in terms of the Immigration Act, once an application forasylum had been made in the prescribed manner, the refugee reception officerwas obliged, pending the outcome of the application, to issue the applicantwith an asylum seeker permit.
By Zelda Venter
This article was originally published on page 3 of The PretoriaNews on February 25, 2009