Uzbek family facing deportation from Schiphol granted last-second injunction

A family from Uzbekistan that was to be sent back to that country on Monday evening will be allowed to stay in the Netherlands for the time being. The family was already at Schiphol Airport when the District Court in Arnhem ruled the government cannot deport them while their years-long asylum procedure is ongoing, said human rights group Defence for Children.

The Babayants family consists of two parents and their four children who have been living in the Netherlands for over ten years awaiting their asylum procedures. Three of the four children are minors. The family currently residing in Emmen was supposed to be deported on Monday evening and has therefore been in custody since last Wednesday.

Two of the children, Amelia (10) and Aleksa (2) were born in the Netherlands. Ariana arrived when she was three years old, and her older brother, Aram, is now 20 years of age. According to Defence for Children, the Babayants children do not know Uzbekistan at all, because they have grown up in the Netherlands.

After they were detained, the family's lawyer filed a new asylum application. This was rejected by the government and the family was still going to be sent back to Uzbekistan. The family's attorney objected to this, and asked the court to stop the deportation process so that it can be determined whether the asylum application has a chance after all.

An urgent hearing was held in the Arnhem courthouse on Monday morning. The judge presiding over the case ruled the family is allowed to stay during the objection procedure, saying the parents and children cannot be put on a plane to Uzbekistan on Monday evening.

The family applied for asylum in the Netherlands several times, but to no avail. In the new application, the family stated that the son and the two oldest daughters have become accustomed to equality between men and women by growing up in the Netherlands. In Uzbekistan, this is different, explained lawyer Martin Vegter of Defence for Children. The children's rights organisation has been supporting the family, campaigning against the deportation in recent days.

The family referenced a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which recently ruled that women who "have begun to identify" with equality between men and women during their stay in a European Union Member State are entitled to a residence permit if their behavior in the country of origin could lead to persecution.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) rejected the new application. The judge now ruled that IND's assessment was too simplistic. According to the judge, the family's objection has "a reasonable chance of success." That is why their objection must be dealt with after all.

A petition supporting the family has been signed over 4,600 times in four days.