The Düsseldorf Administrative Court has rejected urgent applications from two Syrian asylum seekers attempting to avoid deportation to their home country. “The decisions are final,” the court’s press office confirmed.
The two individuals, a 46-year-old cook and his 26-year-old son, had previously applied for asylum in Germany and Austria, but both requests were rejected. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) had issued deportation orders against them.
The court ruled that returning to Syria does not pose a serious threat to the applicants’ lives or physical integrity. Even in their home regions of Damascus and Latakia, “the level of arbitrary violence is not so high that they would be exposed to a serious individual threat to their life or physical integrity simply by virtue of their presence there,” the judges stated.
The court also noted that the security situation in Syria had not worsened over the course of 2025, and any remaining violence was isolated and limited.
This ruling contradicts statements by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU), who had argued that returns would violate the migrants’ dignity. His comments had sparked a broader controversy, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz openly opposing him, insisting that deportations should begin. Wadephul had previously claimed that conditions in Syria were worse than in Germany in 1945.
The Düsseldorf ruling also comes amid ongoing concerns over foreign nationals in Germany suspected of serious crimes. Recent government figures show at least 130 foreign nationals are suspected of murder or manslaughter, including 34 living illegally.
This ruling follows a series of similar court decisions. In September, the Cologne Administrative Court concluded that not every Syrian is entitled to asylum in Germany. In May, the Karlsruhe Administrative Court found no reason to postpone asylum decisions for Syrians, while in July, the Higher Administrative Court of Münster ruled that there was no serious threat to life and limb for returnees.
