A Syrian who fled to Austria and was convicted of membership in a terrorist organisation successfully appealed against the revocation of his asylum status. It is yet another case of a convicted terrorist who cannot be deported from Austria.
The Syrian G. M., who was convicted of membership of a terrorist organisation, was granted asylum again on the basis of a decision by the Federal Administrative Court. Previously, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) in Styria had refused asylum to the Syrian refugee because of his terrorist background. It is another case of a refugee convicted of terrorism who successfully appealed against his deportation.
Only a month ago, eXXpress reported on an Iraqi who, as a secret agent of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), had handed over numerous people to the IS henchmen. He was unmasked in Austria and had to serve a prison sentence of several years. He also succeeded in preventing his deportation and getting a further toleration in the country. It is becoming more and more apparent that such incidents are not isolated cases.
The Syrian-born G. M. was initially granted asylum at the beginning of 2015. But when it turned out that he had previously fought as a sniper alongside the Al-Nusra Front – a Syrian offshoot of Al-Qaeda that later became part of IS – he was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in November 2016. The fact that he had fought in Syria while still a teenager may have been a factor in his exoneration. In any case, he was released on parole in 2017 at the age of 20.G. M. then appealed against the revocation of his asylum status by the BFA Steiermark. With success. The Federal Administrative Court ruled in his favour this year. Since then, G. M. is once again entitled to asylum. The Federal Administrative Court emphasised to eXXpress: “After conducting an oral hearing and extensive evaluation of the evidence, the Federal Administrative Court came to the conclusion that the reasons for the decision presented in the decision of the BFA are not sufficient for a withdrawal of the asylum status due to the current legal situation and the jurisprudence of the highest courts. The BFA can appeal against this decision to the Administrative Court.
One consequence of the current legal situation and legal interpretation by the Constitutional and Administrative Courts is: convicted terrorists can still be granted asylum, but even if their asylum status is revoked – as in the case of the Iraqi who spied for IS – it is not possible to deport them in some cases. This increasingly irritates not only locals, but also the migrant communities, whose relatives have often fled precisely such people. A Syrian living in Austria, who brought the case of G. M. to the attention of eXXpress, says: “We ourselves are always horrified when we see that something like this is possible in Austria.”
https://exxpress.at/verurteilter-terrorist-aus-syrien-erhaelt-neuerlich-asyl/