Dramatic police operation on Wednesday in the German city of Schwerin: Because they were going to be deported, two Afghans (18, 22) and other family members barricaded themselves in a church community in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This caused criticism from the Refugee Council: the board had broken through the church asylum for the first time.
After about four hours of trying to keep in touch with the family and get them to open the door, emergency responders finally entered the apartment “using simple physical force,” the police spokeswoman said. It was discovered that the 22-year-old had probably injured himself with a piece of glass. The mother was in an exceptional psychological state. Both were taken to hospital in a waiting ambulance.
Family members carried knives on their bodies
“During the search of all the people, knives were found hidden on the bodies of the mother, the 22-year-old son and the daughter,” police said after the operation was completed. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the 47-year-old mother for threats and coercion. No other people or emergency services were injured during the operation. There has never been any danger to outsiders. Special police units arrived early in the morning with a battering ram and a chainsaw. But the equipment was not used, it was said.
Afghans should be deported to Spain
According to a spokesperson for the Northern Church, it involved a family of six from Afghanistan whose two adult sons were to be deported. This happened on the orders of the immigration authorities in Kiel. According to the information, both would be taken to Spain. There they entered the EU. According to a church spokesperson, the family stayed in an apartment on the edge of a prefabricated housing estate in Schwerin, which is provided for refugees by the local church community.
Police had initially spoken of two Iraqi men being deported, but subsequently corrected this. According to authorities, in addition to the mother and the 22- and 18-year-old sons, the family also consists of the 49-year-old father, a 13-year-old daughter and a ten-year-old son. All people have Afghan nationality.
The Refugee Council spoke of a frightening signal to refugees. ‘They can’t even feel safe at Christmas. “This signal is also aimed at church communities who are now unsure whether they can continue to offer shelter and hope to refugees,” the statement continued. A spokeswoman also complained that the administrative assistance operation was apparently based on false information, as Iraqis were initially called.
Church asylum refers to the temporary admission of refugees into church buildings who, if deported, risk having their lives and limbs violated or their human rights violated. Such cases occurred more often in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern this year than in the recent past. At the end of November there were 25 people nationwide, as the Northern Church announced. A higher value was last reached in 2018, when 51 people were granted asylum in northeastern Germany. In 2022 there were ten, in the two years before that there were 21 and seven.
Source: Krone
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