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Court ruling: Germany is not allowed to send refugees back to Italy

2021-07-29T12:11:40.858Z


German authorities cannot easily transfer refugees to Italy, a court in Münster decided: The plaintiffs who entered via the Mediterranean country are threatened with existential hardship.


Enlarge image

Refugees in a reception center in Rome (archive image)

Photo: Christian Minelli / imago / ZUMA Press

According to a decision by the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Munster, Germany cannot simply return those seeking protection or asylum who have entered Italy via Italy.

The court sees a serious risk of inhuman and degrading treatment in the EU country.

That emerges from two rulings published on Thursday.

The cases involve a man from Somalia already recognized as eligible for protection in Italy and an asylum seeker from Mali.

Both had traveled on to Germany from Italy.

With reference to the competence of the Italian authorities, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) rejected the men's asylum applications and ordered them to be returned to Italy.

The men defended themselves against this in court.

Those affected would probably be homeless in Italy

It now found that those seeking protection in Italy were threatened with extreme material hardship.

“Both plaintiffs have no access to a reception facility and related care in the event that they return to Italy.

They no longer have the right to accommodation in Italy, ”the reasoning said.

Furthermore, given the current labor market and economic situation in Italy, the plaintiffs would not find work.

The OVG Münster did not allow an appeal.

However, an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig is possible.

According to EU law and the so-called Dublin procedure, the member state into which the asylum seekers entered first decides on the applications.

The Dublin procedure has long been considered a failure. From a purely legal point of view, it disadvantages the southern EU states, where the vast majority of migrants arrive. In fact, however, they often travel on without being registered - or the intended returns never come about, for example because the conditions in southern Europe are too bad. Between 2013 and 2018, only 15 percent of all asylum seekers for whom another European country would be responsible were actually sent back there.

In January, German courts had already forbidden returns to Greece by the Bamf for reasons comparable to those in the current case.

There, too, because of the complete lack of assistance and support services, those affected are threatened with slipping into extreme material hardship and homelessness within a very short time, according to the decisions of the higher administrative courts in Münster and in Lüneburg in Lower Saxony from January and April.

The Greek government has already allowed thousands of recognized refugees to travel to Germany this year.

The Federal Government and especially Interior Minister Horst Seehofer are therefore alarmed.

Berlin had "communicated very clearly" to Athens that the Greek authorities were expected to "meet minimum standards" for refugees, it said in April.

Ref .: 11 A 1674 / 20.A and 11 A 1689 / 20.A

fek / slü / dpa / AFP

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-07-29

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