1999: Death of Marcus Omofuma During Deportation

On 1 May 1999 Marcus Omofuma, a Nigerian asylum seeker, died during deportation on a flight from Vienna to Sofia. Omofuma, who was born in 1973, had initially applied for asylum in the Federal Republic of Germany. After this application was refused, he had entered Austria as an irregular migrant and reapplied for asylum here, stating religious persecution in his home country. After his application was refused at first instance and on appeal, he was taken into custody pending deportation in December 1998. Several medical reports found that his death on board the aeroplane was caused by constricting restraints and the partial blockage of his airwaves with duct tape. The case caused widespread shock among the public – deaths in police custody evoked dire images of overseas dictatorships. In 2002 the three police officers involved were given suspended sentences for negligent homicide.

Omofuma’s death marked a new low in the relationship between the Austrian police and asylum seekers, and between the police and people of African origin who have been living in Austria for a long time and are often already naturalised citizens. Since the mid-1990s human rights organisations have been documenting cases of severe police violence towards Black people, including a first instance of death during the arrest of an African man in January 1999. The backdrop to this harsher approach was the blanket portrayal of Africans as drug dealers in the tabloid media and a stepping-up of anti-foreigner campaigns by the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which enjoyed strong support among Viennese police officers. In summer 1996, the first ever dragnet investigation carried out in Austria was directed at “Black drug dealers”. Africans living in Vienna subsequently became a target group for regular ID checks and other police measures. 

A few days after the death of Marcus Omofuma the Austrian executive forces carried out Operation Spring, a large-scale operation that almost exclusively targeted Black people.