Authorities have reportedly deported a Uighur man to China due to an administrative error. Authorities in Bavaria say they regret "infringing the rights" of the man, who had arranged an immigration meeting in April.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
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Authorities in the German state of Bavaria told public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) on Monday they had mistakenly deported an asylum-seeker from China's Uighur minority due to an administrative error.
The broadcaster reported that officials had been scheduled to meet the asylum-seeker for an interview in April but did not receive a fax from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) notifying them of the meeting. The 22-year-old was put on a flight to Beijing on April 3.
The man's lawyer, Leo Borgmann, told BR he has had no news from his client since the deportation. "There is no sign of life. We fear that he has been detained."
China's Uighur minority has historically faced a raft of restrictions imposed on them by Beijing that people of the majority Han ethnicity don't have to face. These include restricted access to acquiring a passport, being forced to register when staying at hotels and having to allow authorities to randomly check their mobile phones for suspicious content.
Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is under fire over allegations that officials in some branches may have accepted bribes in exchange for granting asylum. Thousands of cases will be re-examined.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
Corruption scandal at BAMF
On April 20, 2018, a number of employees at the regional BAMF office in Bremen were accused of having illegally accepted hundreds of asylum applicants between 2013 and 2017, mainly from Iraq's Yazidi community. Bremen public prosecutors announced that six people, including the former director of the Bremen BAMF office, were under investigation for alleged corruption in about 1,200 cases.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Geisler-Fotopress
Damage control
Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reacted swiftly to the allegations, saying it would be wrong to speculate on what consequences the incident could have for the BAMF immigration offices. He said that the "extremely serious allegations" would first have to be resolved. The BAMF scandal could be a major embarrassment to Chancellor Merkel's open-door policy to refugees.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
The plot thickens
A few weeks into the scandal, German media reported that 13 further regional BAMF branches were going to be subject to checks regarding their approval of asylum applications. The branches had apparently come under scrutiny for showing noticeable differences in the number of asylum applications accepted or rejected in comparison to other offices. Some 8,000 applications will have to be re-checked.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
BAMF head under fire
A month into the scandal, details emerged that BAMF had been informed about the possible improprieties in Bremen earlier than thought, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported. The irregularities were reportedly flagged back in February 2017. In the light of the growing scandal, BAMF head Jutta Cordt announced that some 18,000 asylum decisions made in Bremen since 2000 now had to be re-checked.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Seehofer to face parliamentary committee
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer meanwhile confirmed that he would testify before a special meeting of the Bundestag internal affairs committee to be convened at the request of the Green Party. The committee hopes to avoid a full-blown parliamentary investigation, which two other opposition parties — the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the center-right FDP — are calling for.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
Man of the hour
This might be the man who would have to answer some serious questions if a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry should be launched. Thomas de Maiziere was Germany's interior minister until the beginning of the year, overseeing the management of asylum application at the height of the refugee crisis. De Maiziere, an ally of Merkel's, criticized the shortcomings of the assessment system in the past.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Schreiber
Stripped of authority
On May 23, the German Interior Ministry prohibited the regional BAMF office in Bremen from deciding whether individual refugees will be given asylum in the country. Seehofer said an internal BAMF report had shown that "legal regulations and internal policies" had been "disregarded" at the center.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Assanimoghaddam
Federal Police join probe
The city of Bremen has said Germany's Federal Criminal Police are now part of the inquiry into the wide-ranging corruption. The decision came after a crisis meeting on the scandal surrounding the city's asylum procedure for refugees.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ZB/M. Toedt
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BAMF mistakes
Last month, BAMF admitted that it had wrongfully deported a 20-year-old Afghan -asylumseeker — even though his legal appeal against expulsion was ongoing — and that it was taking "the necessary steps" to ensure his timely return.
Also in July, a German court ordered that a man who allegedly worked as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden be returned to Germany only hours after his deportation to Tunisia, saying the expulsion was illegal as he risks torture there.
