German Politician Calls for Review of Rejected Iranian Christian Asylum Case

A member of the German Parliament has requested that the government investigate the actual situation of Christians in Iran in connection with rejected asylum applications. Christian asylum seekers have stated that German authorities are not accepting their asylum requests.

Volker Kauder, a German parliamentarian and former head of the Christian Democratic Union faction in the Bundestag, called on the German government on Tuesday, September 30 (September 20) in an interview with the German newspaper “Die Welt” to review the case of Iranian Christians whose asylum applications in Germany have been rejected.

The German politician requested that the actual situation of Christians in Iran be taken into consideration in the review and examination of these cases.

Kauder had previously called for a halt to the deportation of Iranian Christians from Germany. He warned that these individuals face the danger of execution in Iran.

On Monday, September 20, the results of an investigation by the Christian aid organization Open Doors were published, stating that Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Asylum has repeatedly cast doubt on the sincerity of Christians’ beliefs and has sought their deportation, while the situation in their home countries is extremely dangerous.

According to the organization, more than five thousand Christians shared their experiences in the research and stated that the German migration office often fails to recognize certificates and letters from their clergy regarding the seriousness of their situations.

Christians were unable to prove their Christian faith in interviews with the office’s employees. More than two thousand of these individuals stated that their certificates were rejected by the office.

The German Federal Office for Migration and Asylum, while rejecting the allegations, stated that it rejects general criticism regarding the decision-making procedure expressed in the report and research, and that applicants’ change of religion is taken into consideration in the asylum process.

The Christian aid organization has complained that there is no uniform standard for testing Muslim asylum seekers who have converted to Christianity. German state authorities have repeatedly cast doubt on the information provided by asylum seekers and Christian communities in Germany.

In the investigation by the Christian organization Open Doors, the situation of 5,207 Christians including 3,081 Christians from Iran, 855 from Syria, 754 from Afghanistan, 206 from Iraq, as well as other Christians from Pakistan, Eritrea, and Nigeria were evaluated.