German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser have warned Assad’s henchmen and supporters against fleeing to their country, vowing to prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Baerbock, from the Green Party, told the German newspaper Tagesschau: “To Assad’s henchmen who may be considering fleeing to Germany now, I can only say this clearly: we will hold all regime followers accountable for their heinous crimes to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
For her part, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) stated during a discussion in the Bundestag that there are border controls in place to identify the individuals in question. She emphasized that security authorities are on high alert.
Koblenz Court
Faeser referred to inspections carried out by security authorities at all borders, saying: “We are extremely vigilant. If followers of Assad’s terrorist regime attempt to flee to Germany, they must know that few countries prosecute their crimes as rigorously as Germany does. This should deter people from making such an attempt.”
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She reminded the public of the Koblenz Higher Regional Court, which in 2022 issued the world’s first ruling against state torture in Syria. The court sentenced a former Syrian intelligence officer to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
In July, Germany arrested Syrian war criminals suspected of being involved in the violent suppression of protests. Faeser stressed that “those who participated in atrocities are not safe from prosecution here.”
Exemptions from Asylum Regulations
On the other hand, many Syrians living in Europe after the fall of the Assad regime wish to return and help with reconstruction efforts.
For these individuals, Hanna Neumann, the Green Party’s spokesperson in the European Parliament, called for exemptions from asylum regulations. She told Funke Media Group newspapers that many of them are ready to contribute to reconstruction efforts on-site but face obstacles due to asylum rules.
Flexible exemptions have now become essential to enable Syrians to support the establishment of a democratic government and local reconstruction in their homeland without jeopardizing their refugee status in Germany or another EU country. Neumann, an expert on the Middle East, emphasized that without these exemptions, affected individuals risk being unable to return to their families in Europe in the worst-case scenario.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
