Germany has deported a Syrian criminal to his home country for the first time in more than a decade, marking the country’s first such return since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
The deportation took place on Tuesday, when the man was flown to Syria’s capital, Damascus, on a scheduled flight and handed over to local authorities, the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin said. The Bild newspaper first reported the case.
According to Bild, the man is a Syrian national born in 1988 who had lived in Germany for several years. He was most recently imprisoned in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia after being convicted of aggravated robbery, assault, and extortion. Federal police officers accompanied him on the flight to Syria.
The interior ministry described the case as significant, noting that no Syrians have been deported from Germany since the civil war began more than ten years ago.
On the same day, another convicted offender was deported to Afghanistan. That individual had been imprisoned in Bavaria for crimes including intentional bodily harm, marking the second deportation to Afghanistan within a week.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said earlier this month that the government was implementing commitments laid out in the coalition agreement, which states that deportations to Afghanistan and Syria will begin with criminals and individuals considered a threat to public safety. The agreement also notes that this does not rule out the deportation of other migrants from those countries.
Dobrindt has justified the tougher deportation approach by pointing to mounting pressure on local authorities. “We reached our limit some time ago, and the strain on local authorities is evident,” he said, adding that the situation needs to be eased.
Around one million Syrians currently live in Germany. The government has previously confirmed it is in contact with Syrian authorities regarding the return of individual serious offenders, while stressing that migrants who integrate into German society remain welcome.
