Romani Woman Forcibly Expelled from Denmark
29 July 2004
According to the Danish Romani organisation Romano, at 5:20 PM on March 12, 2004, Ms Mirjana Kaldaras, a 20-year-old Romani woman and mother of two, was deported to Belgrade from Denmark, while appeals proceedings regarding her legal residence were pending. Ms Kaldaras' husband Dobrinko, who has permanent residence in Denmark and a work permit, and their two young children remain in Denmark. Mr and Ms Kaldaras married in Denmark in 2000 after Ms Kaldaras, an or-phan, moved to Denmark. Mr and Ms Kaldaras were legally married in Denmark after having acquired formal permission from the Statsamtet, a section within the Danish Ministry of Justice, as Mirjana was a minor at the time. Ms Kaldaras applied for a residence permit through the process of family reunification but was rejected. According to Romano, the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Integration reportedly advised Ms Kaldaras to seek asylum. On July 1, 2002, Ms Kaldaras's request for asylum was rejected. At the time of her expulsion, Ms Kaldaras was still awaiting a decision from the Ostre Landsret Court in Copenhagen in relation to an appeal of the refusal to grant her legal residence via family reunification procedures.
Prior to Ms Kaldaras's expulsion, Romano attempted to appeal to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Integration to suspend the expulsion of Ms Kaldaras pending the out-come of her case before the court, but was unable to reach an official on the telephone. Romano spoke with a press officer at the Ministry, who reportedly stated that the national police had in the week previously asked whether the Ministry objected to Ms Kaldaras's deportation, to which the Ministry had reportedly responded negatively. Romano also requested that the Danish Alien Authorities grant Ms Kaldaras a visa to stay in Denmark pending the outcome of the court case, but this was also re-jected. Finally, Ms Kaldaras was forced to pay for the cost of her expulsion from Denmark.
On March 25, 2004, the ERRC sent a letter of concern to Mr Bertel Haarder, Denmark's Minister of Refugee, Immigration, and Integration Affairs, regarding the situation of Ms Kaldaras. On May 13, 2004, Mr Haarder responded to the ERRC's letter, stating that Ms Kaldaras's expulsion had been conducted in conformity with the law and that "The Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs attached importance to the fact that Mirjana Kaldaras and her spouse and children are not prevented from exercising their family life in their home country."
(ERRC, Romano)
