Way clear for return home

Salzburg IS supporter: now the lawyer is speaking out

The Foreign Ministry is currently working on the repatriation of Maria G. The suspected Salzburg IS supporter has been interned in northern Syria since 2019. Her lawyer has now also spoken publicly and revealed what Maria G. could expect in Austria. 

In an interview with the Ö1 "Morgenjournal" on Thursday, Maria G.'s lawyer, Doris Hawelka, expressed her delight at the Foreign Ministry's decision not to appeal against the planned repatriation. This means that the decision of the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) is legally binding.

Maria G. threatened with legal proceedings, sons to grandparents?
Maria G. is also aware that she is threatened with legal proceedings in Austria for involvement in a terrorist organization, Hawelka emphasized. Her two young sons would in any case "have a place with their grandparents". They would "lovingly look after the children" and support them in "starting a normal life", the lawyer assured.

The Foreign Ministry is currently working closely with the relevant authorities and international partners to plan the repatriation, the ministry announced on Wednesday evening.

Fighting in Syria 
The safety of the Austrian mission team and those to be repatriated has top priority. Due to the ongoing fighting in the region, these plans are extremely complex. In Austria, the judicial authorities would have to take over after the return.

In its decision delivered the previous week, the Federal Administrative Court had stated that a joint return of G. and her children to Austria should be brought about. However, the court allowed an appeal against the decision within a period of six weeks. "This appeal would have no suspensive effect and would therefore be de facto insignificant for the specific case," the Foreign Ministry stated.