Germany is warning Assad supporters involved in atrocities in Syria against trying to flee there

BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s foreign minister is warning anyone implicated in Syrian government atrocities who have been expelled for seeking asylum in their country, saying they will face “the full force of the law.”

Germany has been a major destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade, and several hundred thousand Syrians live there. In rulings since 2021, former Syrian secret police have already been convicted in Germany of directing or inciting the torture of prisoners.

“For any of the torturers of Assad (former President Bashar) who may be thinking of fleeing to Germany now, I can say clearly: We will bring all supporters of the regime to account for their terrible crimes by the force of law,” the Foreign Minister. Annalena Baerbock told the Sunday edition of the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Baerbock called on international security and intelligence authorities to cooperate closely.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Germany was “extremely vigilant” and pointed to border checks the country already has in place at its borders as it tries to reduce irregular migration.

He told Bild am Sonntag that “no one involved in atrocities is safe from prosecution here.” He said that the cases that have been released show that Germany is following these cases hard and must act as a deterrent for the people involved from going there.

More broadly, German officials have stressed that many of the immigrants who have integrated well in recent years will be willing to stay after Assad is removed. That was followed by the statement that Syrians are going home, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted in a video released on Friday “disturbed them greatly”.

“Anyone who works here, who is well organized, is welcome and still welcome in Germany,” he said. “That goes without saying.”

“Some refugees hope that they will soon return to their countries. We will support that as soon as the situation allows,” he added. But “only the coming days, weeks and months will show what direction Syria takes after Assad.”