Norway denies Asylum to Gaddafi’s nurse

The former nurse of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been denied her initial application for asylum in Norway.

38 year-old Galyna Kolotnytska had fled to her Native Ukraine following the beginning of US-led air strikes on Gaddafi’s forces in mid-March. She then flew to Norway on the 3rd of May and applied for asylum based on a claim that said the media were hounding her at her home near Kiev and she could not bear to stay.

According to American diplomatic cables revealed on Wikileaks, Kolotnytska was a very close confidante to Mr Gaddafi and some sources say she might have been involved with him romantically.

On Tuesday officials in Oslo announced that her application was denied but would not comment further and would not reveal if she was still in the country. Kari Anne Kvarving, spokeswoman from Norwegian Directorate of Immigration said: “We consider Ukraine a safe country so that applications by people coming from Ukraine are treated within 48 hours,” Reuters reports.

She added that they had rejected all 17 applications for asylum filed by Ukrainians since January of 2010.
The decision is likely to see further review by the Ministry of Justice, though officials declined to comment whether or not Kolotnytska still had another case pending, but Andreas Furuseth of the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers said that Ukrainian applicants are often sent home before the appeals process can be implemented.