Marcus Omofuma (10 May 1973 – 1 May 1999) was a Nigerian

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A per ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

who died due to

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

while being deported. His death became a symbol for

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...

movements in Austria.

Life

Omofuma was part of the Yoruba fraternity Ogboni and was escaping Nigeria from death threats within the fraternity. In 1994, he arrived in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and failed to gain asylum. In November 1998, he fled to Austria and again sought for asylum due to his persecution by the Ogboni fraternity. The Austrian authorities declined his asylum in two instances and detained him from December 1998 on. On 1 May 1999, 25-year-old Omofuma was being deported from Austria. Three police officers put him in a plane operated by Balkan Airlines to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. Because he was resisting, they fettered and gagged him and fixed him on his plane seat. The tape that was used to fetter him was not checked during the whole flight and it made it impossible for him to breathe. He died painfully during the ca. 1 hour flight. His death was realized when landing in Sofia. He had one daughter.

Aftermath

Omofuma's death caused a wave of protests among the African community in Austria and gained wide media attention in Austria. The biggest protest happened on 8 May 1999 in Vienna. The tabloid newspaper

Kronen Zeitung The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic. History The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, ...

was criticized for its racist coverage of the case, justifying the police officers' actions and

victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as ...

Omofuma for being involved in criminal activities. Many of the protesters were arrested in a police operation against drug trafficking that the Ministry of Interior started on 27 May 1999, called "

Operation Spring Operation Spring (July 25–27, 1944) was an offensive operation of the Second World War conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign in 1944. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the Britis ...

". The three police officers who were responsible for his death were suspended from their duty, but in February 2001 the suspension was removed. In 2002, they were convicted to 8 months of prison due to "

negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Other times, an intentional killing may be negotiated down to this lesser charge as a compromised resolution of a mur ...

under especially dangerous circumstances". The defenders of the police officers argued that Omofuma himself had carried responsibility for his death, because he had resisted his deportation. All three could continue their duties as police officers. In 2009, two of them were still working as police officers, while one was retired. The punishment was criticized by activists and human rights organisations as too low. In response to the case, in July 1999 a human rights advisory board to the Volksanwaltschaft was founded. The board is supposed to give recommendations to the Austrian Ministry of Interior. Omofuma's death and the mild punishment of the police officers became a symbol for anti-racist movements and activists in Austria. Even for the 10th anniversary of his death, protests were organised in Vienna. In front of Museumsquartier in the city center of Vienna, there is a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

dedicated to him. The memorial stone was made by artist Ulrike Truger in 2003. The stone was first put up on 10 October 2003 next to

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

without permission by the authorities and on 15 December 2003 it was moved to its current location. Right-wing politician

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Au ...

called Omofuma a "drug dealer", when the memorial stone was erected. Omofuma's daughter filed a lawsuit against Haider for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

and won.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omofuma, Marcus 1973 births 1999 deaths Racially motivated violence against black people in Europe Nigerian emigrants to Austria Victims of police brutality Nigerian refugees Refugees in Austria Racism in Austria People who died in police custody Deaths by person in Austria