German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are warning all supporters of the deposed Syrian ruling al-Assad family not to go into hiding in Germany.
“To anyone among Assad’s torturers who are considering fleeing to Germany, I can only say clearly: we will hold all of the regime’s accomplices accountable for their terrible crimes with the full force of the law,” the Green Party politician said against the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. She emphasized that international security services and intelligence services must now work closely together.
After the overthrow of the hated Assad regime, a rebel alliance led by Islamists took power, while al-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Under his rule, tens of thousands of people were unlawfully detained, oppressed, tortured and murdered.
Faeser noted that there are security checkpoints at all borders.
“We are extremely vigilant. When accomplices of Assad’s terrorist regime try to flee to Germany, they should know that virtually no country prosecutes their crimes as harshly as Germany. That should deter them from making this attempt,” she told the newspaper.
Unions: Syrian workers needed
Meanwhile, in the ongoing debate over whether the roughly 1 million Syrians who sought refuge in Germany should go home, Verdi union head Frank Werneke has argued against sending back needed workers.
“Whether in healthcare, in hospitals, in postal and parcel services, in the mail order sector or in many other professions. In many places, people who have fled Syria are helping to keep this country running.”
IG Metall union president Christiane Benner also told the newspaper: “We need skilled workers from abroad.”
