Deportation Stop for Syrians Lifted: Marchetti Pleased with ECHR Ruling

"The lifting of the ECHR blockade confirms Austria in deportations to Syria," General Secretary Nico Marchetti is quoted in a statement, emphasizing that Austria will continue its "strict asylum policy."

The ECHR had temporarily stopped the planned deportation in August. As it announced in a press release on Wednesday, there was no risk for the man - a Sunni Syrian citizen who came to Austria in 2022 and was convicted of shoplifting and unarmed robbery in 2024 and 2025 - of his rights being violated under Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment). "It is the decision we expected, and as announced, we will consistently implement further deportations of convicted criminals to Syria and Afghanistan," Interior Minister Gerhard Karner responded to the decision on Thursday to the APA.

"Not least due to the tireless efforts of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, Austria is the only EU country to carry out deportations to Syria, setting standards across Europe," Marchetti praised his party colleague. He does not want to accept criticism of deportations to the country still plagued by years of civil war: "Left and right criticism of diplomatic negotiations endangers Austria's security."

Deportations to Afghanistan also planned

There was also recent criticism of Karner because his department had received a delegation of Taliban representatives. "The next step is to enable the deportation of criminals to Afghanistan through diplomatic efforts, in order to implement decisions based on a legally correct procedure," Marchetti justified this step once again, without explicitly mentioning the meeting. Chancellor Christian Stocker is working intensively with European allies to "achieve an authentic interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the ECHR."

FPÖ sees "snail's pace"

The FPÖ finds the deportations too slow. "At Karner's snail's pace, it would take over 8,000 years to deport the more than 100,000 Syrians in our country. This is not security policy, this is a mockery for every Austrian," General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz is quoted in a statement. Once again, he called for an "immediate asylum stop" and the "Fortress Austria" advocated by the Freedom Party.

Amnesty warns against deportations to Syria

Amnesty International Austria, meanwhile, regrets the ECHR's ruling. There is ample evidence that the security situation in Syria remains very unstable and that serious human rights violations are threatened on the ground. This is shown, for example, by the case of a man who was deported from Austria to Syria in July 2025 and has been missing since. A UN committee then asked the Austrian government to initiate investigations into the man's whereabouts. "Austria still owes the UN committee an answer regarding the whereabouts of this person and their security status," a statement said. The ruling should not be used as a "blank check" for Austria's "deportation policy," emphasized Aimée Stuflesser, the expert responsible for asylum & migration.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.