Rejected asylum seeker kills herself and her child in Norway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 January 2012, 23:14 GMT]
A 24-year-old Eezham Tamil asylum seeker has set fire to herself and her 20-month-old baby child Tuesday at an asylum camp in western Norway. The Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende reported Thursday that the mother succumbed to her injuries the same day and the son on Wednesday after doctors fought to save their lives. The future was very bleak for the victim, who was living in Norway since 2006 undergoing a lot of suffering. One week before her death, her 18-year-old sister was found dead in Jaffna.

The news of the mysterious death of her sister, which is believed to be a killing, and the recent rejection of her asylum case by the Norwegian immigration authorities have caused the tragic event, according to fellow asylum seekers who attended a memorial service on Thursday.

Kurdish asylum seekers Shahab Shamloo and Tayyeh Hoshyav who took part in a memorial service blamed the Norwegian immigration policy as having caused the deaths, according to BT.no.

The findings by the Norwegian Police so far suggest that the woman had set fire to herself and her child, news reports said.

The woman lived alone with her child in the apartment.

Kristine Aarre Hånes, the lawyer who represented the 24-year-old woman, has told NRK that the victim was very close to her younger sister whom she lost a week ago.

External Links:

NRK:		Familien forstår ikkje politiet sin konklusjon på dødsbrannen
BT:		Dødsbrannen var påsett
BT:		- Ein tragedie at slikt skal skje