Unprecedented Increase in Rejections of Iranian Asylum Applications in Germany
Statistics released by Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Asylum show that most Iranian asylum applications are being rejected in the country. Only one quarter of Iranian asylum seekers in 2018 received positive responses to their applications.
Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Asylum (BAMF) has released statistics regarding the acceptance rate of Iranian asylum applications in the country. Statistics that clearly show a sharp decline in approvals for Iranian asylum seekers.
The German news agency reported on Tuesday, March 12, that in 2018, fewer than one quarter of Iranian asylum applicants received positive responses from German asylum officials.
The German Catholic News Agency (KNA) also reported that only a small number of Iranian asylum seekers in the past year received support from Germany and obtained residence and work permits.
Complaints from Asylum Seekers
In 2018, a total of 11,430 Iranian citizens filed asylum applications in Germany. According to statistics released by the aforementioned office, only 2,619 of these applicants received positive responses.
These statistics are scheduled to be released on Tuesday by newspapers affiliated with the “Funke media group.” The statistics on Iranian asylum seekers in Germany were requested by the Left Party faction in the German parliament, and in response to this request, Germany’s Interior Ministry and the Federal Office for Migration and Asylum released the data.
Based on these same statistics, the aforementioned office rejected the asylum applications of more than 5,000 Iranians in 2018. Approximately 4,000 other Iranian applicants either left Germany before their cases were processed or withdrew their asylum requests.
Furthermore, many Iranians have filed complaints against decisions issued by Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Asylum. Approximately half of Iranians who received asylum in Germany in the past year were those who appealed the office’s initial decision and subsequently received positive responses.
The Left Party faction in the German parliament (Bundestag) has criticized the government’s policy toward Iranian asylum seekers. In their view, the unprecedented increase in rejections of Iranian asylum applications is a clear indication of deficiencies in the processing of asylum cases by the aforementioned office.
According to a report by the German Catholic News Agency, human rights organizations assess that many opposition forces, Christians, and LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face pressure from the Iranian government.
According to these reports, the use of torture and the imposition of severe restrictions on followers of other religions are among the policies pursued by Iran’s legal and political system. A trend that has intensified forty years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Source: DW
