Sweden has rejected the asylum application of the ‘world’s oldest refugee’ and have ordered that she return home to her native Afghanistan.
Bibihal Uzbeki, 106, fled Afghanistan via Iran, Turkey and Greece before ending up in Sweden.
During their journey, Uzbeki’s son and grandchildren took turns to carry her on their backs.
105-years-old: Bibihal Uzbeki from Kunduz, Afghanistan, rests in Croatia’s main refugee camp
A helping hand: Volunteers help 105-year-old Uzbeki at a refugee camp in Croatia
The 106-year-old from Kunduz, Afghanistan has been told to leave after her application was rejected in June, reports The Local.
However if another country offers her refuge, she can also seek asylum there.
She has appealed the decision to the Migration Court.
Centenarian Bibihal Uzbeki, crossed into Croatia on a stretcher from Serbia
Seeking shelter: Uzbeki has been named the ‘world’s oldest refugee’ by international media
Uzbeki has been nicknamed the ‘world’s oldest refugee’ by international media after she was interviewed in a Croatian migrant camp in 2015.
That year 163,000 people sought asylum in Sweden.
In 2015, she told The Guardian: ‘I fell and injured my head. I have scars on my head.’
The family had a difficult journey to Sweden with her son telling newspaper Skaraborg Läns tidning: ‘It was a difficult journey for the whole family. We carried her until we reached Germany, there a doctor finally gave us a wheelchair.’
In 2016, almost 70,000 people were given protection in Sweden after seeking asylum. 1,889 additional refugees were granted permits to enter the country under the annual refugee quota.
According to Tolo News, applications of over half of Afghan refugees seeking asylum in Sweden have had their application denied.
There have been protests in support of the refugees denied asylum.