US EditionU.N. Probes Mysterious Disappearance of Deported Syrian Man
AUSTRIA, AUG 8 – The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances demands Austria confirm the fate and treatment of a deported Syrian man missing since early July, raising human rights concerns.
- A U.N. letter dated August 6 asked Austria to seek confirmation of the Syrian man’s safety, location, detention conditions, and guarantees, prompting an inquiry by the U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
- The Syrian man lost his refugee status in 2019 after a criminal conviction, and Austria deported him while he awaited a decision on a new asylum application.
- Austrian legal adviser Ruxandra Staicu said neither his family nor lawyers can reach him after he left Austria and landed in Istanbul, where authorities confirmed he has remained out of contact.
- The Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs confirmed receipt of the U.N. letter and will examine further steps with responsible ministries, following the UN Committee Against Enforced Disappearances' investigation request.
- Being the first expulsion of a Syrian from EU territory since December, the case underscores growing debate over refugee repatriations amid Syria's changing political situation.
14 Articles
14 Articles
UN Worried About Deported Terrorist but Not the Victims
The United Nations has taken the scandalous step of intervening in Austria’s deportation of a convicted terrorist while maintaining noticeable silence on the broader crisis of migrant-related crime affecting communities across the continent. The case involves a Syrian national who served a seven-year prison sentence in Austria for terrorist organization membership before being deported in July in the first such removal to Syria since 2011. The …
The New Arab
Arab NewsUN committee probes disappearance of Syrian man deported by Austria
The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances has launched an inquiry into the whereabouts and fate of a Syrian man who was deported by Austria in early July and has not been in contact with his legal team or family since. Austria has been asked by the U.N. committee "to make formal diplomatic representations to the Syrian authorities to determine whether the (person) is alive, where he is being held, in what conditions, and (to) request diploma…
The UN's warning to Austria to look for a convicted terrorist deported in Syria is not good at all. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) counters coolly: "I am not interested in such statements taken off and alien from the world." To the facts again: 500 Syrians have left Austria voluntarily this year – more than twice as many as in 2023 and 2024. Moreover, for the first time after 15 years, a criminal convicted of suspected terrorism was sent…
U.N. Probes Mysterious Disappearance of Deported Syrian Man
The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances is investigating the fate of a Syrian man deported by Austria in July. Concerns over his safety rise as the man remains uncontactable, prompting Austria to seek assurances from Syrian authorities. His case highlights the risks and global concerns over forced repatriations.
Since a stopover in Istanbul in the course of the extra-territorial movement, deserters and refugee counselling no longer has any contact with the man. A committee of the UN has asked the Federal Government to inquire with the Syrian authorities about the whereabouts of the person concerned.
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