17 family members suspected of more than 160 crimes have left Germany for Syria. German authorities paid each of them 1,350 euros for their departure, DW reports.
17 out of 20 members of a Syrian family suspected of committing more than 160 crimes in Germany have left Germany for Syria. The remaining three brothers are being held in custody as they were sentenced to prison terms in June for a knife attack in Stuttgart, the Ministry of Justice of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg reported on Monday, October 20.
The three family members who remain in custody are expected to leave Germany after serving a significant portion of their sentence, noted the SWR broadcasting company.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the family, which arrived in Germany in 2015, was part of a large criminal clan. Among the 160 crimes the family members are suspected of are violent extortion, bodily harm, and attempted murder. Not all of these cases have legally binding court sentences.
Family Received About 23 Thousand Euros for Departure
17 family members left Germany as part of a so-called controlled departure, as deportation from Germany to Syria is currently impossible. "At this time, controlled departure was the only way to end the family's stay in Germany," said the Minister of Justice of Baden-Württemberg, Marion Gentges.
As part of this procedure, each family member was paid 1,350 euros from the state budget for leaving Germany. The total amount paid was about 23 thousand euros. The Ministry of Justice emphasized that the incurred costs were still significantly cheaper for Baden-Württemberg than if this family had remained in Germany.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the family members who left Germany renounced their refugee status, and their residence permits were revoked. They are subject to a re-entry ban in Germany for a period ranging from five years to life.
