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Police in Iceland raided a church in the capital Reykjavik at 4am on Wednesday for two asylum seekers originally from Iraq. The shocking video shows police storming the place worship, which was providing sanctuary to the pair. Both men were eventually dragged out of the sanctuary of a Reykjavik church in handcuffs in the middle of the night. Known only as Ali and Majeh, the duo were later deported to Norway following scenes which have shocked human rights groups.

NO MORE DEPORTATIONS The two teens were removed from the altar and forcibly dragged from the church by the police

Vicar Kristín Þórunn Tómasdóttir of the Laugarnes church said he did not think police would violate the long-held tradition of church sanctuary. He believed by keeping the asylum seekers in the place of worship would help protect the pair from their impending deportation. However, in the end, the two men were deported from Iceland under the terms of EU's Dublin Regulation and have since been sent to Norway – where they face expulsion back to war-torn Iraq.

In the video, the two teenagers were removed from the altar and forcibly dragged down the church aisle by the police. Around thirty people encircled the asylum seekers in a vain attempt to protect them and stand in solidarity with them. One of the asylum seekers was then taken into a waiting squad car, where he burst into tears. The asylum seekers' rights group No More Deportations have since shared photos from the scene.

NO MORE DEPORTATIONS The church warned against deporting immigrants “as if they were on a conveyor belt”

The numbers show that Norwegians do not hesitate to send people from Norway to southern Iraq Red Cross lawyer Gunnar Dofri Ólafsson

Vicar Kristin Thorunn Tomasdottir said: "The police came, we explained why we were there, and they explained that they had rules to follow and nothing would change that. "Then the asylum seekers were dragged across the church floor." Tomasdottir and her parish warned that Iceland was deporting immigrants "as if they were on a conveyor belt". The Laugarnes church in Iceland’s capital wanted to test whether the police would respect the tradition of church sanctuary.

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Vicar Tomasdottir also warned that Norway – where the men were sent– regularly sends refugees back to southern parts of Iraq because the country regards the region as "safe". She added: "But it’s quite easy to prove that that is simply not true." Iceland, which is a small island with a population of just over 320,000, has accepted only a few dozen refuges during the course of the European migrant crisis.

NO MORE DEPORTATIONS One of the asylum seekers was just 16 years old