A family of six Yazidi refugees, previously residing in Brandenburg, has been deported to Iraq despite a ruling by the Potsdam Administrative Court suspending their deportation order. The move has triggered calls for their immediate repatriation from opposition parties within the German parliament.
Clara Bünger, deputy parliamentary group leader for the Left party, told “Der Tagesspiegel” that Germany’s current deportation practices require urgent reevaluation. She asserted that individuals who have survived recognized genocide deserve protection within Germany and urgently demanded the family’s return, alongside a nationwide moratorium on deportations to Iraq for Yazidi individuals and a residency permit guaranteeing their safety.
Marcel Emmerich, the Green Party’s spokesperson for domestic policy, echoed these sentiments, characterizing the deportation as a “low point” for government officials. He criticized Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Hans-Eckhard Sommer, the president of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), alleging they have lost sight of fundamental human rights principles. Emmerich called for Sommer to provide a full public accounting of who was responsible for the deportation and to personally oversee the family’s return.
Michael Kellner, a Green Party Member of Parliament representing the electoral district where the family had lived since 2022, condemned the deportation as a “blatant violation of humanitarian principles”. Kellner urged both the federal and state governments to utilize all possible means to facilitate the family’s return and formally grant them the residency rights previously adjudicated by the court.
