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The next frontex- collective- deportation is planned to happen on the 4th of May. More than 20 persons, two of them players of the football team “FC Sans Papiers”, who are currently arrested in the detention centre Rossauer Lände, are about to be transferred to Schwechat airport on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the 29th of April 2010, during the training of the anti- racist- football team “FC Sans Papiers” (“without papers”) a raid with a large number of policemen took place. After the interrogation 14 players were released, one of the players and the trainer were kept in custody pending deportation. The trainer is facing a death sentence in Nigeria due to his sexual orientation. The 21 year old player has been living in Austria since he was 15 years old. They were threatened to be deported the very same night. As a result a solidarity- demonstration at the detention centre Hernalser Gürtel, with around 300 to 400 participants, was organized quickly. When one of the arrested was recognized in a delivery van of the police, the car was blocked for about two hours. In the end the police broke up the blockade violently and took 42 people temporarily under arrest. The persons concerned were not deported that night, but transferred to the detention centre Rossauer Lände.

On the next day, April 30th, another demonstration of solidarity with those imprisoned was held in front of Rossauer Lände. Another protest was planned to happen on the first of May at the Marcus-Omofuma- Memorial. About 200 people were gathering, when the police kettled them with the intention to prevent the start of the demonstration march and to sabotage the right to freedom of speech. Nobody was arrested that day. But when a couple of people moved the protest to the detention centre Rossauer Lände to declare their solidarity with those imprisoned, a massive force of police showed up and took another 7 people with them to prove their identities. During all that time the football players and more than 20 other persons, who are about to be deported to Nigeria, are kept in custody pending deportation. According to information from Ute Bock’s association they have now been ILLEGALLY IMPRISONED since two weeks.

More Information in german: FC Sans Papier: Spiel ohne Papiere mit weitreichenden Folgen - eine Razzia, drohende Abschiebungen, ziviler Ungehorsam und Demoverbote