§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any further information about the Romanian citizen Mr. Stancu Papasoiu, whom he deported a few weeks ago, as to whether or not he was a genuine political refugee; and whether he now intends granting this man asylum.
§ Mr. WaddingtonIt has now been confirmed that Mr. Papasoiu was in a refugee centre in Austria from 22 September 1980 to 18 March 1981. The Austrian authorities rejected a claim for asylum on the grounds that Mr. Papasoiu did not meet the criteria of the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees and Mr. Papasoiu returned voluntarily to Romania.
This further information confirms our belief that Mr. Papasoiu has no claim to be treated as a refugee.