Asylum Seeker Tries to Self-Immolate in France
An asylum seeker suffered serious burns after setting himself alight inside a French courthouse when his final chance at obtaining asylum was thrown out, according to police and witnesses.
A police source said the man was a Chadian national who had arrived in France via Syria.
The man, who was carrying a bottle, doused himself with petrol before setting himself on fire and suffered serious burns to his scalp and torso, the source added.
Gilles Piquot, a lawyer who was in the National Court of Asylum at the time, said the man had "come to consult the notice board" where asylum decisions are displayed in the main hallway.
After learning his application had been rejected, he "set himself on fire, and then began to run. The police then removed him from the building," said Piquot.
The court based in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil allows asylum seekers to appeal if their applications were turned down by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People (OFPRA).
In 2013, nearly 90 percent of those whose initial asylum application was rejected, turned to the court. In 18 percent of cases the court overturned the decision by OFPRA.
If the court rejects an appeal, the asylum seeker is usually expelled from France.
Source: Agence France Presse
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