Germany Expels Individual to Syria for the First Time Since 2011

The German Ministry of the Interior has reported that a Syrian migrant, previously convicted of serious crimes, was sent to Damascus via airplane this morning and turned over to Syrian authorities. This marks the first expulsion since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that German society has a "legitimate interest in removing criminals from the country." The expulsion was the culmination of months of negotiations between Berlin and Syrian authorities.

Additionally, today Germany also expelled a man convicted of violent crimes to Afghanistan.