Germany restarts deportations to Syria after nearly 15 years

A convicted Syrian criminal has been deported from Germany to Syria for the first time since civil war broke out there nearly 15 years ago, the Interior Ministry in Berlin said.

The man was handed over to authorities in the Syrian capital on Tuesday morning, the ministry said, adding that he had been serving prison time for aggravated robbery, assault and extortion.

Earlier on Tuesday, an Afghan man convicted of intentional bodily harm was also deported, marking the second such deportation within one week, according to the ministry.

"Deportations to Syria and Afghanistan must be possible. Our society has a legitimate interest in ensuring that criminals leave our country," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, vowing "checks, consistency and a clear stance" on migration.

Germany halted direct deportations to Syria after war erupted in 2011 following the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests by the regime of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad.

After al-Assad was ousted by a rebel alliance late last year, calls grew in Germany for Syrian refugees to return home. But the then centre-left government cautioned that it was too early to determine whether conditions in Syria were safe.

The conservative-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which took office in May, has since adopted a more hardline stance on migration, pledging to resume deportations to Syria and Afghanistan starting with convicted criminals.

Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, Germany has deported groups of Afghan nationals twice, with assistance from Qatar. A first flight took off in August 2024, under the government of chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Following months of talks, German government officials have now reached agreements with Syria's new government as well as Afghanistan's Taliban regime to facilitate deportations of convicted criminals and individuals deemed a security risk on a regular basis, according to the ministry.

It comes after Merz said in November that he would personally lobby Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa for a swift resumption of deportations to Syria.

"The civil war in Syria is over. There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany, which means we can begin repatriation," he said on November 3.

He later clarified that Germany "will not deport" those politically or religiously persecuted.