German court rules Syria conflict no threat to civilians in migration case
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A German court ruled on Monday the ongoing conflict in Syria no longer poses a general threat to all civilians, rejecting a claim to protected status by a Syrian man.
The ruling of high administrative court of North Rhine-Westphalia came in response to a request for protected status by a man from Hasakah Governorate in eastern Syria who arrived in Germany in 2014.
German Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, said on Tuesday the ruling was “a decision that one can understand, if one assumes that there are now regions in this country that are very dangerous but also other areas where there isn’t necessary a danger to life.”
German authorities did not grant him protected status because he had been involved in smuggling people from Turkey to Europe, for which he was sentenced to several years in prison in Austria.
However, a court later ruled that they must recognize him as a refugee, which the Muenster court overturned on appeal.
The judge stated that the man was not a victim of political persecution in Syria.
Additionally, his past criminal offenses disqualified him from receiving refugee status or other forms of protection, according to the court’s statement.