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Espionage and surveillance of refugees has been debated for many years and remains a major issue among diaspora groups in Norway. Many feel monitored, and one of them is Muetter Iliqud, who lives and studies at the University of Bergen.
Iliqud came to Norway with his family in 2011. After applying for political asylum in Norway, he received protection. Today he has lost all contact with his family in China.
Since then, he has started working for the Norwegian Uighur Committee, an association that fights for the independence of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, China. I wanted to write articles about China’s treatment of Uighurs in the country.
– I thought it was absolutely safe to live in Norway, until I started to be politically active, she says.
Facts about Uyghurs
• When China occupied East Turkestan in 1949, they changed the name of the region to Xinjang. The area is the largest region in China and covers an area four times the size of Norway.
• The Uighurs come from the Xinjiang province in northwest China.
The Uighurs belong to a Muslim minority of Turkish descent.
• The Chinese authorities are accused of extensive repression of the Uyghurs.
She knew that being an activist could put her family members at risk and she didn’t want to. As a result, he wrote his articles anonymously and last year they were posted on the committee’s website.
– The articles I wrote were a lot about China’s brutal treatment of Uighurs and other ethnic groups, he says.
A few months later, she learned that the police had warned her 85-year-old grandmother, who lives in China.
The police came again
“A Chinese security policeman who had a printed version of my article with him visited my grandmother in China and they warned him about me,” he said.
After a few days, the Chinese police returned to the grandmother’s house. This time she was forced to provide Iliqud’s contact information.
– Since we have not had contact with relatives in China, she did not have information to give to the police, but these warnings simply mean that my grandmother may be imprisoned for the work I do in Norway, she says.
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Muetter Iliqud, who is also responsible for communications at the Norwegian Uyghur Committee, says she was worried about her grandmother and felt guilty after the incident.
– The worst thing is that I couldn’t call her and ask her how it went, and I don’t see there will be such an opportunity in the future either, she says.
He has since sent an email to PST about the incident, but has received no response.
– Among the Uyghurs, there are several who suffer similar harassment, and I think that the Norwegian police do not do enough to prevent espionage, he says.
PST has not answered the TV 2 questions.
Muetter Ilquid is not the only one experiencing this. A new report from Proba’s social analysis shows that various immigrant groups – Eritreans, Uighurs, Ethiopians, Turks, Chechens alike – are exposed to pressure and controls in Norway, probably from the authorities in their home country.
Trust weakens
An important finding of the report is also that trust in Norwegian social institutions is weakening, because immigrant groups in Norway do not feel that the Norwegian police provide them with sufficient protection.
SV Parliamentary Representative Petter Eide has raised the issue through a written question. Eide sent the question to the Minister of Justice and Emergency Management, Monica Mæland.
Petter Eide, SV politician, has asked a written question about immigrant groups in Norway. Photo: Vidar Ruud
– What will the Minister of Justice do to map this problem, as well as to provide these groups with adequate protection? Eide asked in the written question.
Challenging to distinguish between
Monica Mæland’s response states that she is familiar with the report that the Ministry of Education commissioned from Proba, and continues:
– This pressure can have important consequences for those affected and it is a problem that the government takes seriously.
It is also stated in the reply that in Norway it is the Police Security Service (PST) that is responsible for preventing and investigating spying on refugees.
Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland. Photo: Elias Engevik
– It can be difficult to distinguish between what is legal influence and what is illegal pressure or control, responds Minister Monica Mæland.
In addition, it is noted that it is very demanding for the police and the PST to prevent and investigate such cases, if the person exerting pressure and control is outside of Norway.
– Some diaspora settings may be closed and relevant information does not always reach the Norwegian authorities. As a result of this, there may be large dark numbers regarding the incidence of pioneer refugees and other forms of pressure and control against diaspora groups, Mæland responds.
The journalist behind the article, Aysun Yazıcı, is a journalist from Turkey living in exile in Norway. It is affiliated with the foreign department of TV 2.
