Austria deports Syrian convict in first official return since fall of Assad regime

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - Austria has deported a Syrian national convicted of terrorism-related offenses back to Syria, marking the first official deportation by an EU member state to Syria in 15 years, the Interior Ministry announced Thursday.

The deportation, which took place in the early hours of the morning, involved a man who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018 for recruiting on behalf of the terror group Daesh/ISIS, Austria Press Agency reported.

His asylum status was subsequently revoked and after his release last year, he was sentenced again and held in detention pending deportation.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the man was deported via a scheduled flight through Istanbul to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

"The deportation carried out today is part of a tough and therefore just asylum policy," Karner said in a statement made from Vienna Airport.

He added that Austria would continue deporting convicted criminals to Syria “with hard work and determination,” and that further deportations were already being prepared.

The deportation was initially delayed last week due to restricted airspace linked to regional tensions in the Middle East.

Karner noted that the move follows direct talks with Syrian authorities in April, when he and then-German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the country to discuss cooperation on returns and deportations.

Although Austria has no formal agreement with the Syrian government formed after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Karner said a personal meeting with Syria’s interior minister had enabled the repatriation.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in Syria in January.