Zurich (Somalia Today) — A Swiss human rights organization on Thursday accused the government of planning secret Somalia deportations by special flight. The group says authorities are preparing to forcibly return migrants to Mogadishu.
The group, Augenauf (“Eyes Open”), said in a press release that the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is acting without official approval from Somali authorities.
Citing migration files it claims to have obtained, the organization states that the first flight is planned “as soon as possible.”
Swiss deportation policy
Switzerland’s deportation policy has tightened in recent years.
A 2006 government-commissioned study said that at the time “no Somalis have been forcibly returned to Somalia… by the Swiss.”
Since then, voters approved a controversial “Deportation Initiative.” It allows automatic removal of non-citizens convicted of certain crimes. Amnesty International warned that the measure could violate international law.
According to federal statistics from 2020, there were 5,459 Somali citizens living in Switzerland.
A central claim in the report is that Swiss authorities issue their own travel documents to bypass a lack of cooperation from Mogadishu. Augenauf says the migrants concerned do not have the required Somali travel documents for a flight.
The group alleges the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) “has itself issued so-called laissez-passer (replacement travel documents) for the Somali migrants.”
It states that it found such a document in one migrant’s file and described the practice as “previously unknown and shocking.”
The Swiss newspaper WOZ – die Wochenzeitung also reported the findings.
Allegations of ‘enormous force’
The human rights group, founded in 1995, described the “enormous force” it says authorities use in the planned secret Somalia deportations.
Migrants can face administrative detention for up to 18 months before a flight. “When the flight is imminent, the victims are taken from their cells by a heavily armed police squad and isolated in special cells at the airport,” the report alleged.
If individuals protest, Augenauf says police “completely shackle their hands and feet” and “forcibly put a helmet on the victims.”
On the plane, the individuals remain shackled. The report says at least three police officers accompany each person.
The group says it knows of at least one attempt in July 2025 to deport a Somali man on a scheduled flight. The pilot “refused to transport the man,” according to Augenauf.
Swiss authorities, the group says, justify the deportations by calling the migrants “dangerous and notorious violent criminals and rapists.” Augenauf rejects that as “propaganda” and says, “Most of the people Switzerland wants to deport are not particularly dangerous.”
‘Secret migration agreement’
The allegations follow a July 2025 meeting in Switzerland with a delegation from Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA). The two sides signed an agreement on closer cooperation in migration.
As part of the partnership, Switzerland is supporting the Somali authorities with passport control equipment and a training program.
Augenauf alleges that this support “likely intended to improve the Somali authorities’ approval of deportation flights.” It says the files it reviewed contain “evidence that the Swiss authorities attempted to obtain permission for one or more special flights… during these meetings.”
Officials from the SEM and the FDJP, as well as Somali government spokespersons, did not immediately respond to Somalia Today’s requests for comment on the specific allegations.
Somalia’s government has recently and “firmly” rejected similar claims. In a statement on October 8 addressing reports of a “secret deal” with Sweden, the prime minister’s office denied all allegations of conditional aid for deportations, calling them “false, misleading, and unfounded.”
Other European nations have negotiated returns. Germany and Somalia agreed to a deportation pact in late 2024.
A controversial legal landscape
Switzerland has deported individuals to Somalia before, though such cases remain rare.
In 2019, authorities deported a high-profile “hate preacher” from Winterthur to Somalia. Swiss media said the case was “complicated by the… preacher having no documentation and refusing to cooperate with migration officials.”
The debate over forced returns to Somalia comes as parliament considers other hardline migration proposals.
In April 2024, a parliamentary committee backed a plan to repatriate rejected Eritrean asylum seekers to Africa via a third country, similar to the UK’s “Rwanda bill.” The proposal advanced despite the justice minister’s warning that it might not be feasible and criticism that it was “legally delicate.”
Amnesty International has criticized Switzerland’s “Deportation Initiative,” warning that it could breach international law, specifically the principle of non-refoulement, which forbids returning a person to a country where they risk torture or persecution.
Despite the controversy, Somalia remains a priority country for Swiss development cooperation under the Horn of Africa 2022–2025 program. The strategy focuses on “migration and protection.”
UN reporting continues to describe a fragile situation. A February 2024 UN Security Council briefing noted some progress but cited ongoing threats from Al-Shabaab and a humanitarian crisis in which “almost a third of the population is suffering from hunger.”
