Germany deports second convicted Syrian national since fall of Assad
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – German authorities have carried out a new deportation to Syria, returning a convicted Syrian man in what marks the second such case since the fall of the Assad regime, the German Press Agency (DPA) reported on Wednesday.
Available information indicates that the 32-year-old man had been repeatedly involved in legal disputes and was convicted in 2020 of drug-related offenses and assault, for which he received a multi-year prison sentence.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministry told the Bild newspaper that another Syrian criminal was returned to Syria on a scheduled flight, noting that the individual had a criminal record involving violent offenses and drug crimes.
The spokesperson did not disclose the man’s identity. However, the deportation took place on Jan. 6, 2026, according to the DPA.
The deportee had been serving his sentence at Burg Prison in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt before being transferred to the airport and deported on Tuesday afternoon.
Germany suspended direct deportations to Syria in 2011 following the outbreak of the war. However, after the collapse of the Assad regime, calls intensified to reconsider the return of Syrian refugees, despite reservations voiced at the time by the center-left government over security conditions in Syria.
Since the conservative government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May 2025, Berlin has adopted a tougher stance on migration, pledging to resume deportations to Syria and Afghanistan, beginning with convicted criminals.
The first deportation following the fall of Bashar al-Assad took place shortly before Christmas, when a Syrian man residing in Gelsenkirchen was returned to Syria after being convicted of armed robbery, assault, and extortion.