“Ehsan.M,” Iranian Christian Citizen, Faces Deportation from Germany

“Thomas Balbirer” announced the deportation of “Ehsan.M,” an Iranian Christian citizen, from Germany.

Thomas Balbirer, a reporter for the newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung,” while criticizing Germany’s policies toward asylum seekers, which are very strict, described the issuance of a deportation order for Ehsan.M, an Iranian Christian citizen, as irresponsible and shocking.

Ehsan, 34 years old and an Iranian citizen, works at an Amazon warehouse in Bavaria, Germany, and now faces the danger of being returned to Iran. This decision by German authorities, given the human rights situation in Iran and the threat to Christian citizens, has sparked significant concern and criticism.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, on Tuesday, March 19, he went to the Amazon logistics center near Augsburg for his regular night shift as he had done in previous months. His brother, named Hussein, announced that Ehsan was arrested by police on Wednesday evening on his way to the Amazon warehouse and is now facing deportation from Germany and being sent back to Iran.

Ehsan’s asylum request was rejected in 2019, and he subsequently lived in Germany under a residence permit known as “Duldung” or “tolerated status.” Interior ministers of German federal states decided in autumn 2022 to suspend the deportation of Iranian asylum seekers whose requests had been rejected, due to Iran’s unclear situation following the nationwide protests that began with the death of Mahsa Amini. However, this directive expired at the end of 2023, and the federal states did not renew the order to halt the deportation of Iranian asylum seekers.

The decision to deport Ehsan.M was contrary to the wish of the German Interior Ministry, and one of the ministry’s spokespersons said, while noting that the human rights situation in Iran has not improved since the Mahsa Amini uprising: “Nancy Faeser, the Interior Minister, has great respect for the courage of people who have risen up in Iran for freedom and human rights. Therefore, the German Interior Ministry supported the renewal of this directive and was in favor of it.”

According to Hussein, Ehsan’s brother, he contacted Ehsan on Monday at the deportation detention facility in “Eichstätt” and Ehsan stated that he is scheduled to be deported to Tehran on Wednesday and his flight ticket has already been purchased. Hussein emphasized that his brother will face serious difficulties in Iran because he had previously participated in protests against the government before fleeing Iran, and in addition, he was also active at a Protestant church.

Balbirer, the reporter, said regarding Ehsan’s deportation: “Considering that leaving Islam and accepting other religions is a serious crime in Iran, Ehsan is in danger. The planned deportation of an Iranian Amazon employee is just one specific example of an excessively strict asylum policy.”

The reporter called the decision of Germany’s interior ministers not to renew the ban on deporting Iranian asylum seekers a scandal and stated that Germany cannot guarantee that deported individuals will not become victims of arbitrary detention or torture. While criticizing the ministers’ decision, he considered it an inhumane action and added: “Do the Bavaria authorities really intend to put a man who works here, pays taxes, and is an active member of the Protestant church in such serious danger? This action would be very irresponsible and shocking.”