An Iraqi asylum seeker has been missing since June 15th after fleeing the highly secured transit area of Frankfurt Airport. According to reports, the man managed to pry open a hole in a wall, concealed by a plywood panel during renovation work and escape. The Federal Police are currently conducting a search for him.
The individual had been in the “airport procedure” since the end of January, meaning his asylum application was being decided upon before he even entered the country. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected his application within days and a subsequent urgent appeal to the administrative court was unsuccessful.
Due to the absence of a passport, the man could not be deported to Iraq immediately. A court order mandated that he remain in the transit area of Frankfurt Airport in the interim. The Regional Council of Gießen, responsible for his accommodation, stated that lessons had been learned from the incident. The authority reported that structural adjustments had been made to the building and surveillance measures have been intensified.
