Macedonia refuses asylum request of UAE woman

Macedonia has rejected an asylum request filed by a citizen of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who claims to be fleeing domestic violence.

Hind Al-Buluki said she feared for her life after seeking a divorce from her abusive husband.

Lawyers and activists reported on Monday that the Macedonian Interior Ministry had rejected Al-Buluki’s request for asylum on the grounds that she “lived a normal life” and there was therefore no reason to grant her protection.

After her asylum application was rejected, Al-Buluki’s lawyers secured an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, that prevented her deportation.

Al-Buluki is currently being held in a migration shelter amid fears she might be returned to Abu-Dhabi.

“For the time being, she is safe from deportation” said Zoran Drangov, of the Association of Young Lawyers of Macedonia who had filed the case.

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