Four suspects who were arrested by police at an office in Westlands,
Nairobi, for producing fake passports, Identification cards and birth
certificates on June 14, 2013. Three Syrians who pleaded guilty of being
in the country using forged passports have been ordered to pay a
Sh200,000 fine. PHOTO | JENNIFER MUIRURI
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Three Syrians who pleaded guilty of being in the country using forged passports have been ordered to pay a Sh200,000 fine.
The
Nairobi court further ordered the Immigration department and the UN
High Commission for Refugees to agree on where to hold the Syrians who
are believed to be part of an international terror ring.
Senior
Principal Magistrate Peter Ndwiga who convicted the three for using
forged passports said “there is a serious conflict between the
immigration department and UNHCR about the status of the foreigners.”
Chief immigration officer Musyoka Kavoi said the refugee legitimacy of the Syrians was in question given their obscurity.
He
urged the court to direct that the three leave Kenya immediately they
pay the fine instead of being handed over to the UN agency as refugees.
“This
country is not safe if we keep people who hid their identity and
engaged in crime. Everybody should take the security of this country
seriously since we have been targeted by terrorists,” Mr Kavoi said.
The
convicts who have been in police custody since December 16, last year,
were arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, using
forged travel documents.
Emadaldin had a forged French
passport while Mr Hushi had a forged Bulgarian passport and Mr Betari
had a Spanish passport which had forged endorsements.
The magistrate heard that the three produced their genuine Syrian passports when they realized they were in serious trouble.
In
defence, the trio’s lawyer had said they were not criminals as
suspected but were innocent citizens fleeing their war-torn country to
save their lives.
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