news wrote on Tuesday about the Jakarian couple from Syria, who may be thrown out of Norway after having lived in Bømlo for almost ten years. Last Friday, they packed up their things and moved out of their detached house. They then sought refuge in the nearby church. For an indefinite period, the church is therefore their new home, but they cannot feel safe here either. Because in April this year, the government decided to repeal an old rule that provided special arrangements for church asylum in Norway. Now the police can go into churches and pick up people who seek refuge by force. – As can be seen from the news release from 14 April, special guidelines no longer apply for the future transport of people who have taken up residence in churches. This means that if new cases of church asylum should arise, the cases must be resolved in line with the police’s normal routines, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Services, Geir Indrefjord (Sp). This is what the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness wrote to the Directorate of Police on 14 April 2023 Church asylum – repealed guidelines Guidelines on church asylum given in a letter from the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness on 4 March 1999 were repealed in 2022. Refer to our letter to the Directorate of 18 January 2022 (our ref . 20/6329), after which all circulars on police activities established by the ministry before 1 January 2001 were repealed. The ministry will not issue any new instructions for the police’s handling of persons who have taken up residence in churches. Following this, special guidelines no longer apply for how the police should deal with people who have taken up residence in churches when implementing decisions made in accordance with the immigration legislation. The police are now expected to implement decisions regardless of the person’s place of residence, in line with general rules and guidelines. The ministry assumes that handling in accordance with general rules and guidelines involves behavior as gentle as possible, including the least possible use of force and, as far as possible, with respect for the special position of the church room. Measures such as dialogue, information and cooperation with the church will be key elements in achieving voluntary solutions and avoiding the use of force. If children are affected, pediatric principles for the police’s work in asylum and immigration cases must be used as a basis. The police’s immigration unit refers to the Norwegian Police Directorate for comment. They have not yet responded to news’s inquiry. Does not hold back on criticism Kirkeasyl has a long tradition in Norway, and during the Balkan war in the 90s it was particularly widely used. In recent times, it has been used to a greater extent by immigrants to avoid being thrown out of the country. But now the police can make arrests inside the church. – Here the government is introducing almost barbarism, says Oddny Miljeteig. She is a former deputy chairman of SV and deputy chairman of the Bjørgvin diocese council. Oddny Miljeteig is shocked that the police can now arrest in the church. Photo: Anette Berentsen / news She does not hold back on the criticism that the government no longer provides special treatment for people in church asylums. – Entering holy houses with the police or the military is like what we read about from countries with military dictatorships and the like, says Miljeteig. The churches should be sanctuaries where people in need can seek shelter, she believes. – These people do not pose a danger to Norway’s security. – Gross overstepping Miljeteig is not alone in reacting to the government’s decision. On Wednesday, Dag Inge Ulstein from KrF is on his way to Bømlo to meet his family. They have sent questions to the Minister of Justice about the matter. Ulstein refers to the Collin family, who lived for eight years in a church asylum in Finnsnes before they were granted residence in Norway. – I just hope that this will not be another Collin case, and hope this will be resolved immediately. They must be allowed to stay. This is a family that didn’t know they had Armenian passports, have come here, are working, have housing, and the children are starting education. We cannot send them to Armenia, says Dag Inge Ulstein in KrF. Not many people use church asylum today, but for many it has been necessary to be able to stay in Norway. Red is also critical. – We think that the intervention that the police are now allowed to do inside the church, by being able to physically enter and force people out, is a gross violation. We will take up the matter with the Minister of Justice, says Tobias Drevland Lund, parliamentary representative for Rødt. – The opportunity to use church asylum is important, says Tobias Drevland Lund. Photo: Mette Ballovara / news Agree with the government Tamar and Harout Jakarian have been forced to leave because the UDI found out that the couple have Armenian citizenship. Armenia is considered safe, and the couple is therefore not entitled to protection in Norway. The FRP agrees with the government’s decision. They are opposed to church asylum. – The church must realize that Norwegian law applies everywhere. It cannot be the case that a person who is on the run from the police should be able to avoid being arrested if you have done something illegal, for example just because you are in a church, says Erlend Wiborg, immigration and integration policy spokesman for the Frp. Erlend Wiborg in the FRP says that we cannot accept that churches, mosques or other religious communities put themselves above the law. Photo: Kristoffer Steffensen Lenes / news They believe that it must be ensured that there is equality before the law, and that it is therefore not right that someone can get away from the police by visiting a church. – Here we are talking about people who have had their application for asylum in Norway finally rejected and have a duty to leave the country, but who choose to break the law and the decisions they have been given. We cannot accept that, he says and adds: – We must ensure that people who are staying illegally in Norway are actually sent out of the country. The Bishops’ Conference The Bishops’ Conference of the Church of Norway shares the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Services’ view that church asylum is not a desirable situation, but will strongly protest against the unnecessary exercise of power in a sacred space. They do not want to comment on individual cases about church asylum, but in a statement to news the Bishops’ Conference writes the following: – Church asylum is based on a thousand-year-old tradition where people in a desperate life situation seek a sacred space for protection. It is not about evading law and justice, but occurs when someone seeks refuge in a safe space for rest, reflection and orientation to reality. The bishops’ meeting in the Church of Norway points out that sometimes the asylum seekers need time to think about themselves, get an orientation to reality, and a safe room while waiting for an appeal to be processed. Photo: The Norwegian Church Therefore, they believe that church asylum is not an arrangement created by the authorities or the church, but rather a situation outside of the normal that occurs when people stay in the church room, out of fear for their own life situation. – If the police use force to get people out of a church room, it implies a dramatic break with cultural custom and a thousand-year-old tradition where the church room has been a room without weapons and law enforcement, they write.
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