Some Refugees in Germany Identify Themselves as ‘War Criminals’
Germany’s Federal Migration Office has dismissed concerns in the country about the presence of “war criminals” among asylum applicants as unfounded. A large portion of information about the commission of war crimes by refugees themselves is being provided to authorities.
According to Hans Eckard Zummer, head of Germany’s Federal Migration Office (BAMF), the large number of indicators and evidence suggesting “the commission of war crimes” by refugees cannot be considered a potential threat to Germany’s security.
According to the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag” on Sunday, March 10, Zummer warned about concerns over the presence of a large number of “war criminals” in Germany. He pointed out that “sometimes the information collected is from witnesses or asylum applicants themselves in order to benefit from the advantages of personal security rights”.
In the “Welt am Sonntag” report, it is stated that some asylum applicants from Pakistan and Afghanistan mention in their asylum applications that they were members of an Islamist group. They hope that through this they can benefit from immunity and “personal security rights” because if they return to their countries they would be prosecuted due to their membership in this organization or group.
Need for Further Investigation
Last week, in response to a parliamentary question from the Free Democratic Party faction in the German parliament, the government published research from the Federal Migration Office regarding the potential threat of “war criminals” in Germany.
According to this report, from 2014 to the current year 2019, Germany’s Federal Migration Office has provided approximately 5,000 indicators and information about war criminals to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office and Germany’s intelligence agency.
Despite the large number of information provided, investigations have only been initiated in 129 cases. Now in Germany the question has been raised whether evidence of “the commission of war crimes” is being taken seriously enough in Germany and whether it is being properly investigated.
Stefan Meyer, parliamentary secretary of Germany’s Christian Social Union, said about this: “I really warn against hasty conclusions about this.” He pointed out that many of the information provided relates to people who do not actually live in Germany.
The head of Germany’s Federal Migration Office defended the measures taken by authorities in this area and said: “Our security experts take seriously every piece of data and information provided by refugees and quickly pass it on to the relevant authorities.”
According to the head of Germany’s Federal Migration Office, he sees no reason to accept the notion that “authorities did not take any cases seriously.” Zummer said that “Germany’s Federal Migration Office is not part of the country’s security authorities but works in close cooperation with these authorities.”
Previously, Horst Seehofer, Germany’s Interior Minister, had also called for a “detailed report” on whether German institutions and agencies had followed up on “thousands of indicators” of possible war crimes committed by some refugees.
A spokesman for Germany’s Interior Ministry told the newspaper “Bild” that a considerable number of evidence and indicators that asylum applicants in Germany had raised about the commission of war crimes had not been provided to the responsible authorities and police were unable to conduct the necessary investigations about it.
Source: DW
