Deportation in Iraq: Court: No return for deported Yazidi family

After a court decision, the Yazidi family deported to Iraq has no way to return to Germany. The Potsdam Administrative Court rejected it in the urgent procedure to oblige Germany to return. The decision was inconceivable, said a court spokesman.

The family with four underage children had lived in Lychen in the Uckermark for several years. She had been deported to Iraq on July 22. On the same day, the Potsdam Administrative Court opened the family’s duty to leave because of an urgent application, but the deportation was already underway. The case made headlines beyond Brandenburg.

Unlike the family, the court does not assume that the deportation was illegal. After a decision by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in March 2023, it was subject to departure, according to the Potsdam judges.

In vain for rejection complained

The family had tried in vain to defend themselves against rejection of their asylum application for around two years. At the end of July, the Potsdam Administrative Court dismissed its lawsuit against the rejection of its asylum application as unfounded.

The administrative court does not assume that the plaintiffs have suffered “individual persecution”. In addition, it saw no considerable individual threat such as persecution by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) and also no sufficient indications for current group persecution of Yazidis. In 2023, the Bundestag recognized crimes by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) in 2014 on the religious minority as a genocide.

Requirements for return

The court was further of the opinion that the applicants have no property rights, it was now said. According to the spokesman, the judges had lifted the family’s obligation to leave because of an urgent application on the day of the deportation due to an urgent application. Because at the time the family was already in Iraq and executed the deportation.

Politicians from the SPD, the Greens and the left had asked for the family withdrawal, which are in Iraq with relatives. The refugee aid organization Pro Asylum considers the deportation practice of Germany to be inhumane and penetrates an deportation stop for Yazid Yazid Yazid.

School class presents petition

A school class also fights for the back of the family. Two students and a sixth grade student presented a petition and a protest letter today. “The future of the family lies in their hands. Act and bring the family back – now!”, The letter to Interior Minister René Wilke (independent) said that the 13 -year -old Leonie read. Around 35,000 people have now signed the petition on the Change.org platform.

Interior Minister Wilke (independent) had announced that he wanted to get the family back quickly in coordination with the federal government. A prerequisite is a corresponding legal basis. So far, the Ministry of the Interior has not seen any possibility for a withdrawal. Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) had announced a critical evaluation of the case, but pointed out that the court ruling had to be accepted.