TIRANA, Dec. 26 – The suspicious death of an Albanian asylum seeker, Florenc Beqiraj, while in administrative custody in Marseille on Thursday led to street protests in Albania this week.
Family members believe the 23-year-old’s death was the result of violence while awaiting deportation, despite being officially declared a suicide by French authorities.
An official statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the French Ministry of Interior notified Beqiraj had died in Marseille-Nord hospital, where he was in a comma after being found unconscious in his room a couple of weeks earlier. The results of the autopsy and ongoing investigation have still not been made public.
Meanwhile, Beqiraj’s relatives have told local media they don’t think he committed suicide. According to Beqiraj’s sister, he had called and told her he felt threatened at the Centre for Administrative Custody where he was staying with other soon-to-be-deported asylum seekers.
French media also reported he had expressed fears of being killed at the detention centre. About 48 hours prior to the tragedy, he had said he was threatened by another refugee – a complain that had resulted in a room change.
The Marseille-based media portal La Provence reported “a deep wound” could be seen on Beqiraj’s throat where he lay in his hospital bed before passing away.
Though unknown if the wound was the result of struggle or the mark of the rope he is reported to have used, La Provence added that neither his family, friends nor boss can believe he took his own life.
The Forum Rà©fugià©s-Cosi Association, which offers legal assistance at the detention centre, confirmed that “on Dec. 11, he expressed joy to be leaving the centre, and departure on Dec. 15 was notified.”
The suicide that put him in a comma and later took his life is reported to have happened on Dec. 14, only 24 hours before Beqiraj’s scheduled departure for Albania.
Beqiraj had lived in Marseille for about two years. He worked at a flea market. He was in the process of getting his papers in order when French authorities stopped him and found out he was not a legal resident in France.
The Albanian embassy said French authorities had told its staff Beqiraj’s suicide was meant as an attempt gone wrong — a badly-thought way to prolong his stay in France.
Reactions in Albania
Several government representatives visited Beqiraj’s family home in Shkodra earlier this week.
President Ilir Meta’s office said it is in continuous contact with French authorities to bring the deceased’s body home and clarify the circumstances of his death.
Protesters, members of the civil society and relatives of the victim first gathered in front of the Pyramid in Tirana to light candles and later marched to the Prime Minister’s Office and along the city’s main boulevard.
Citizens didn’t just protest for the investigation of Beqiraj’s real cause of death, but also for the fates of all Albanians who seek asylum in Europe, mostly unsuccessfully. As such, the protest was also against the political situation in the country which, according to those protesting, is the main reason why young people flee in hopelessness, despite Albania being a safe origin country by all asylum-seeking standards.
Among other things, the protesters demanded Albanian Ambassador to Paris Dritan Tola be sacked for not properly protecting Albanian citizens abroad.
The head of the opposition, Lulzim Basha, said Prime Minister Edi Rama is the main cause youth is leaving the country.
“The main person responsible for this situation has kept silent today again for the death of 23-year-old Florenc, just like he keeps silent every day for the massive way Albanians are leaving the country,” Basha said.
Based on the politicized intonation of the tragedy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concluding its statement, called for all political actors to show wisdom and don’t fall prey to using this tragedy as a means to reach political ends.
France had expressed concern over asylum seekers
Earlier this year, France had expressed its concern over a rising number of Albanian asylum seekers, asking Albanian authorities to tackle the phenomenon by the end of 2017. The alarm was raised this week during a meeting Albania’s Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati held in Paris with French Minister of Interior Gà©rard Collomb in July.
A statement by the French ministry of interior says French authorities are concerned over the rising number of Albanian asylum seekers, largely not eligible for the refugee status or international protection because of Albania being an EU candidate and a NATO member country.
Gà©rard Collomb says Albanian asylum seekers, a considerable number of whom are unaccompanied minors, are occupying a large space in French asylum accommodation units.
According to latest Eurostat data, some 5,440 first-time Albanian applicants sought asylum in EU member countries in the first quarter of 2017, ranking sixth in a top ten list dominated by war-torn Middle East countries.
France was the second most favourite destination for Albanian asylum seekers in 2016 with about 6,850 applications or a quarter of the Albanian asylum seekers in the EU, ranking Albanians the top country of citizenship for asylum protection in France, according to an earlier report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The number of first time Albanian asylum seekers to EU member countries more than halved in 2016, but Albania remained for the second year in a row among the top 10 countries of citizenship seeking asylum protection in list dominated by war torn Asian and African countries and Russia.
Eurostat data shows the number of Albanian asylum seekers to EU countries dropped to 28,925 in 2016, down from a record 65,935 in 2015 when the country faced a massive exodus.
Germany was once again the main destination of asylum seekers with about 15,000 or half of total first time asylum applicants in EU member countries, down from a record 54,000 in 2015.
However, only two out of 100 Albanians who applied for asylum in EU member countries during the past couple of years have been granted protection under a final decision.
