The young Mexican student who disrupted last week’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, in an attempt to draw attention to kidnappings and violence in his homeland, has been sent out of the country. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Adan Cortes was put on a Lufthansa flight with a connection bound for Mexico City.
Norway’s immigration authority UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet) rejected Cortes’ application for asylum as “clearly without grounds,” justifying the speedy deportation even though Cortes appealed UDI’s decision. Cortes’ attorney Dag Holmen claimed the deportation itself was groundless and that he had a right for it to be duly considered though an “ordinary” process.
Cortes’ application was also backed by a petition signed by around 1,200 people who demanded that Cortes be allowed to stay in Norway. They claimed that his life will now be in danger in Mexico, where murders and kidnappings are common and lawlessness appears rampant in the face of powerful drug cartels.
Cortes sought asylum in Norway just a day before he stormed the stage of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on December 10, carrying a Mexican flag and asking prize co-winner Malala Yousafzai to “please remember Mexico.” The incident set off a security scandal that left police apologizing for a blunder that allowed the Mexican student to slip through two security checkpoints. He was later taken into custody and fined NOK 15,000 for disturbing the peace.
newsinenglish.no staff
