Following the incident in Solingen, Prime Minister Wüst shares the following details.
Wüst brought up the challenges faced by authorities handling asylum procedures and deportations, stating it's "extremely tough" even to deport to Europe. Wüst mentioned "deadlines, bureaucratic barriers," or "loopholes" that could be exploited. He also suggested examining if these authorities are adequately armed with rights.
The 26-year-old individual from Syria, reportedly slated for deportation from Germany, purportedly entered the EU via Bulgaria in 2022. Subsequently, he submitted an asylum application in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. A deportation attempt to Bulgaria fell through due to the man's inability to be located. Subsequently, he received subsidiary protection in Germany's asylum process.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Interior, Herbert Reul (CDU), questioned the situation's ambiguity regarding deportations. He stated that it wasn't simply an isolated case but that scrutiny should focus on our country's deportation system. He pointed out that by the time of the incident, timeframes for intra-EU deportations to Bulgaria, where the man originally entered Europe, had expired. The authorities had attempted to retrieve him but were unable to do so. Reul clarified that the man wasn't "hiding," but rather intermittently present at the refugee shelter.
Wüst urged for "action" from the political sphere following the attack in Solingen. He believed that "people rightfully expected answers" following the event. Wüst also advocated for a shift in migration policy. "It's about enabling people who have no permanent right to reside here to leave the country more effortlessly, or ideally, not to arrive at all," he stated. He suggested that there should at least be possibilities for deportations to certain parts of Syria and Afghanistan.
On the evening of Friday, three individuals were killed, and eight others wounded in a stabbing rampage during a city celebration. The 26-year-old alleged assailant surrendered himself on Saturday and was detained. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is examining the case under suspicion of terrorism. The suspect is believed to have conducted the attack as a member of the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS).
The 26-year-old's journey to Germany began in Bulgaria in 2022. Despite the attempts to deport him back to Bulgaria, the deadlines for intra-EU deportations had expired, making it impossible.
Germany, like other EU countries, faces complex challenges in dealing with asylum procedures and deportations, as highlighted by Wüst's concerns about deadlines, bureaucratic barriers, and loopholes.
