Family fled from IS - now sent back
According to various media reports, the family with four underage children had been living in Lychen, Brandenburg, since 2022. They had fled from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia in Iraq.
In 2014 , IS murdered and abducted tens of thousands of Yazidis - a genocide that was officially recognized by the Bundestag in 2023.
Despite this history, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) rejected the family's asylum application in 2023. The rbb quotes the decision as saying that the family had come to Germany for "reasons unrelated to asylum, for the purpose of better future opportunities".
Urgent application successful - but too late
The family's first urgent appeal against the deportation failed in April 2023. Shortly before the deportation on Tuesday, they submitted a new application - with success: the Potsdam Administrative Court expressed "serious doubts" about the original rejection. But the deportation flight to Baghdad had long since taken off.
Authorities point to information gaps
The Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior defends its actions. According to a statement to dpa, the Central Foreigners' office had " no information at the time of the handover to the Federal Police at Leipzig Airport " about a deportation ban.
In fact, the BAMF was formally responsible - according to their own statements, the Brandenburg authorities acted on the basis of the guidelines there. However, the court's decision is said to have been received by the BAMF just over an hour after the family's departure.
Deportation meets with nationwide criticism
The case triggered a wave of outrage. The Brandenburg Refugee Council called the deportation "scandalous" and spoke of a "deportation agenda driven by the right"(rbb).
Pro Asyl is also calling for consequences: The organization is demanding the immediate repatriation of the family and a nationwide ban on deportations for Yazidis. Legal policy spokesperson Wiebke Judith explained: "The fact that a last-minute urgent application was successful shows that this deportation should not have taken place."
Max Lucks, human rights spokesperson for the Greens, also spoke out in Focus magazine and called for the resignation of BAMF President Hans-Eckhard Sommer. The Left Party parliamentary group also criticized the process and called for a recall.
Proposed law: Greens demand right to stay for Yazidis
The fate of the Yazidi family is likely to be a draft law of the Greens political emphasis. In the proposal submitted to the Bundestag by the parliamentary group , the party calls for better protection for Yazidi refugees in Germany.
According to this, all Yazidis who have entered the country by July 31, 2025 are to receive a three-year residence permit - regardless of visa or livelihood. The regulation should apply nationwide and enable long-term integration, as the Greens emphasize.
The draft law also provides for the possibility of a permanent residence permit after the first three years.
Situation in Iraq remains uncertain for Yazidis
Background: According to the draft, the situation in the Yazidi region of origin Sinjar remains unacceptable - there is repeated violence by IS cells, militias and foreign military presence.
The group also points out that Germany has so far only fulfilled its responsibility to protect victims of genocide to a limited extent: In 2023, only 53% of Yazidi asylum seekers from Iraq were granted protection status in Germany.
It is currently unclear whether the Greens' bill will find a majority in the Bundestag.
No permanent solution so far - countries call for deportation ban
In recent years, several federal states - such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate - have issued temporary deportation bans for Yazidis. However, there has been no uniform federal regulation to date. A corresponding proposal last failed at the Conference of Interior Ministers in June 2024.
The family's lawyer has now taken legal action and applied for their return. It is currently unclear whether the family will be allowed to return to Germany.
