Baby cries and shackles Forced deportation of family shakes Lucerne
The deportation of a family with a baby carrier and a psychotherapy file has shaken Lucerne: while authorities point to legal standards, critics are calling for a moratorium on the forced deportation of families.
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- In Lucerne, a mother with three small children was deported to Turkey under massive police force - despite psychological care in Switzerland and critical voices on proportionality and humanity.
- Human rights organizations and politicians are calling for a moratorium on forced deportations of families, more transparency and a review of police practice.
- The authorities refer to legally binding proceedings. However, specific allegations regarding the execution remain unanswered, reigniting the debate on children's rights and humanitarian standards.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 27, 2025, around 16 police officers moved into an emergency shelter in Lucerne - the aim was to deport a mother and her three young children.
Her asylum application had been rejected and Turkey was the country of return. The son is ten years old, his two siblings four years and nine months. What remains is outrage - and many unanswered questions. This is reported by "Zentralplus".
According to the Migrant Women's Parliament association, which cites statements from the mother, the youngest child is said to have screamed for over an hour during transportation to the airport - without the mother being allowed to calm him down.
She herself reports that she was handcuffed. There is no denial from the Lucerne police - but no confirmation either. They say that the officers acted "proportionately and according to the situation".
Protest in front of the migration office - criticism from left to green
The family has now arrived in Turkey - penniless. The mother has found shelter with a friend, she writes on WhatsApp. Her husband had already been repatriated in April. According to the woman herself, she received psychological treatment in Switzerland and her son is also said to have received therapeutic help.
On Friday evening, around two dozen people demonstrated in front of the Lucerne Office for Migration. They were organized by the Migrant Women's Parliament and supported by organizations such as Solinetz Luzern and Seebrücke Schweiz. Their demands: A moratorium on deportations of families with underage children, a review of police practice - and full transparency.
Green cantonal councillor Samuel Zbinden is also shocked. "If this is how the deportation took place, it is by no means the way to deal with a mother with small children," he says. In view of the circumstances, the police force of 16 people was "hardly proportionate".
Government: last step after failed proceedings
The Lucerne Department of Justice and Security defends the deportation as legally correct. "The family received a legally binding negative asylum decision. All legal means had been exhausted," it says.
The offer of voluntary return had been made, but this had been rejected - according to the canton, this left only the enforcement of the deportation order.
Deportations are always stressful, especially for families. The authorities emphasized that deportations in Lucerne were carried out according to humanitarian standards. Children's rights and medical aspects are taken into account. However, the department is also silent on the specific allegations.
Zbinden: "The goal must not be traumatization"
Zbinden demands more: "Referring to legal standards is not enough. There needs to be a clear commitment to protecting children and people with psychological problems." Repatriations should not lead to additional suffering - "they must be humane."
His demand: transparent processing, including in the current case. And in the medium term: no forced deportations of families with children or people in psychological care.
National Commission urges consideration
The National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) regularly monitors deportations - and criticizes in a recent report that parents are often shackled in the presence of their children. It also advises avoiding coercive measures for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Plainclothes police officers, no weapons, no separation of parents and children - these are the recommendations. It remains unclear whether these standards were adhered to when the Lucerne family was deported.
Legal hurdles - hardly any chance for complaints
Figures from the canton show: Appeals against deportations are rarely successful. In 2024, 72 cases were examined by the compulsory measures court - only five decisions were judged to be partially or completely unlawful. Not a single case was heard at federal level.
Zbinden sees this as a structural problem: "Many of those affected feel they are not being treated fairly or simply have no way of defending themselves."
The return of this mother and her children highlights the humanitarian abysses of forced deportations. There is a fine line between the rule of law and human dignity - and one question remains: how much humanity can a country afford?
