Switzerland: Thousands of asylum applications neglected

Switzerland: Thousands of asylum applications neglected Via the Local: Swiss justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga opened an enquiry on Wednesday to find out why thousands of Iraqi asylum requests were ignored by the country's migration authorities. The minister also announced the dismissal of the head of the Federal Migration Office (BFM), Alard du Bois-Reymond. No reasons were given by the BFM for Du Bois-Reymond's termination, and Sommaruga would neither confirm nor deny that it was linked to the Iraqi asylum enquiry. The external enquiry will investigate why between 7,000 and 10,000 asylum requests submitted by Iraqis to the Swiss embassies in Syria and Eygpt were overlooked by the BFM for several years. (source)