Asylum seeker and pregnant, a woman was beaten up by an Opra agent

It was France 3 Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur who unveiled the case this Friday, December 16, 2022: last May, a young 28-year-old woman was heard in a particularly scandalous way by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons in Nice, as part of his asylum application.

The appellant’s name is Rose and she was 8 months pregnant at the time of her interview with an Ofpra agent to look into her case. Following a stroke in 2019 while she was in Libya, she is struggling” speak and understand “, information still well specified in his file.

However, this did not stop the Ofpra agent who received her from multiplying the insistent questions, interrupting her and speaking to her bluntly even while trying to evoke violence. “The interview turns into an interrogation” describes France 3 Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, which had access to the recording of the hearing. She says she was forced to marry, which is why she chose to flee Cameroon and took several years to reach France.

“The officer interrupts her:

“Look, I’m asking if he stalked you.

– Yes, he persecuted me…

“Then what did he do to you?”

– He persecuted me… for example he…

He interrupts her again: “What did he do to you?” Rose catches her breath and tries to formulate a sentence: “She told me that…” But the officer returns to the accusation: “No, no, she didn’t tell you. What did she do to you? » »

Furthermore, she insists on the sexual assault she suffered with this man:

“Did you have sex with him?

– Yup.

– So, did it go well, didn’t it go well?

– It didn’t go well because… I… it was he who wanted…

The officer interrupts him and exclaims: ” That’s it! He forced you to sleep. That’s what had to be said. » »

Rose’s asylum application was rejected

In his report, the agent he claims he was not convinced from the elements reported by Rose, believes for example that she “it describes in a summary and agreed way the domestic violence to which she was subjected without contextualization, without elements of detail and without tangible details”. The asylum application was therefore rejected.

Rose is now being helped by a lawyer, Me Pauline Soubié-Ninet who denounces an interview ” contrary to human dignity and respect for others “. In front of the Ofpras, an asylum seeker must be able to explain their story as clearly as possible and what led them to flee their country to find refuge in France, but most of the time he doesn’t have his word.

As the associations to help asylum seekers point out, the interview with Opra is a capital step during which it is necessary to tell the violence suffered, as well as the risks of persecution that one runs in case of return to one’s country of origin. Hence the need for agents to promote verbalization “It reminds me of Pauline Soubié-Ninet. In the case of Rose, who is in fact unable to express herself easily, the agent’s attitude seems to have prevented the clear expression of her story, thus leading to the rejection of her request.

“If an interview took place under the conditions you describe, which are in no way representative of Office practice, I deeply regret that,” said the director general of the Opra, Julien Boucher, still with France 3 Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur. “Such a way of proceeding is not admissible and all the consequences should be drawn from it. »

Photo credit: Scott Graham