Published : 17-02-2018
The authorities in Thailand continue to detain the Palestinian refugee “Iyad Taha Soliman,” for the third consecutive month, under the pretext that his visa has expired. Iyad had sent a call for help through the Action Group, demanding the international and human rights organizations and the civil society, to intervene in order to release him and put an end to his tragedy.
In his message to the Action Group, Soliman said that the suffering of his migration began when he entered the Thailandese territory in 2013, with the aim of with meeting with the UNHCR, and to submit an immigration request to a European country.
He added that after his tourism visa had expired, he remained hidden and out of sight, waiting for the UNHCR to transfer him to a European country, however he was detained on 9th of November 2017, on charges of holding an expired tourist visa, and was transferred to a Thai prison.
Soliman added that after contacting the UNHCR, it told him that it was unable to help or do anything for him because the Thai government does not treat refugees as if they are refugees fleeing a war, however it treats that as law violators if they disobey its regulations.
It is worth mentioning that Iyad’s case is not the first recorded by AGPS. The Thai authorities arrested a number of Palestinian-Syrian refugees that were present on its land, for the same reason.
The authorities in Thailand continue to detain the Palestinian refugee “Iyad Taha Soliman,” for the third consecutive month, under the pretext that his visa has expired. Iyad had sent a call for help through the Action Group, demanding the international and human rights organizations and the civil society, to intervene in order to release him and put an end to his tragedy.
In his message to the Action Group, Soliman said that the suffering of his migration began when he entered the Thailandese territory in 2013, with the aim of with meeting with the UNHCR, and to submit an immigration request to a European country.
He added that after his tourism visa had expired, he remained hidden and out of sight, waiting for the UNHCR to transfer him to a European country, however he was detained on 9th of November 2017, on charges of holding an expired tourist visa, and was transferred to a Thai prison.
Soliman added that after contacting the UNHCR, it told him that it was unable to help or do anything for him because the Thai government does not treat refugees as if they are refugees fleeing a war, however it treats that as law violators if they disobey its regulations.
It is worth mentioning that Iyad’s case is not the first recorded by AGPS. The Thai authorities arrested a number of Palestinian-Syrian refugees that were present on its land, for the same reason.
