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Constitutional Court: Syrian may be deported

According to the Constitutional Court, the region around the Syrian capital Damascus is sufficiently safe for a return.(Bild: APA/AFP/LOUAI BESHARA)

A 33-year-old Syrian has had his appeal against his negative asylum decision rejected by the Constitutional Court in Vienna. The security situation in his home region of Damascus had improved to such an extent that a return was possible, according to the reasoning.

The fact that the man has a university degree and his family is "wealthy" also makes a return possible, the supreme judges wrote. In October 2022, the man received a negative asylum decision from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and appealed against it before the Federal Administrative Court.

However, the court ruled that there was nothing to prevent his return, as the man could also avoid recruitment by the Syrian military with an "exemption fee" provided for in Syrian military law. There were also no discernible circumstances that would cause the Syrian regime to accuse him of having an oppositional attitude.

It is therefore not assumed that the 33-year-old would find himself in an existentially threatening situation after his return.

Archive image from 2021: Syrian soldiers fighting against rebels(Bild: APA/AFP/SANA)

The Constitutional Court argues similarly, but states that the enforcement authority is obliged to take the current security and supply situation into account when carrying out a deportation.

Austria in favor of reviewing the EU strategy towards Syria
The Austrian Federal Government has been advocating for some time that the EU take joint steps to intensify returns to Afghanistan and Syria. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and seven of his counterparts are in favor of a review of the EU strategy towards Syria.

Among other things, they are considering greater equal treatment of the various parties to the civil war at a diplomatic level. In addition, the EU should appoint a Syria envoy to maintain contact with all sides. Furthermore, the EU should work towards a situation in the country in which the "safe, voluntary and dignified return of Syrian refugees" is possible, "on the assumption that the security guarantees are the responsibility of the regime".

Interior Minister welcomes court ruling
The Ministry of the Interior in Vienna is feeling a tailwind from the Constitutional Court ruling: "I welcome the decision (...), which confirms the view of our authority that a return to Syria is legally possible," stated Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP). "With its proposal to make deportations to Afghanistan and Syria possible again, Austria has brought momentum to the debate among the member states," Karner continued.