The main suspect in last week’s deadly attack in the western German city of Solingen appears to have deliberately evaded transfer to Bulgaria, authorities said Monday.
The 26-year-old Syrian arrived in Germany on December 25, 2022. According to the European Union’s Dublin Regulation, Bulgaria was responsible for his asylum procedure. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin on Monday that Bulgaria had agreed to his return very quickly.
An initial attempt to return the man to Bulgaria failed on June 3, 2023, when authorities were unable to locate him at his accommodation in the city of Paderborn in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Further attempts would normally follow, and immigration authorities would try to establish whether someone may have gone into hiding. An arrest warrant could also be issued.
Once it has been officially established that someone has gone into hiding, the usual six-month period for a Dublin transfer – that is, deportation to another responsible European Union country – can be extended by a further 12 months. However, this did not happen in the case of the Syrian.
The six-month period expired on August 20, according to the information from the authorities. Four days later, the man reappeared. This, it was said, indicated that he was well aware of the deadlines and his rights. He later moved from the refugee shelter in Paderborn to Solingen.
The ministry responsible for refugees and integration in North Rhine-Westphalia initially did not provide any information about the case in response to a dpa investigation. Details of the incident had also previously been reported by the news magazine Der Spiegel and the mass newspaper Bild.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst also commented on the failed deportation: “We have to see if everything went well. If something went wrong, it must be clearly indicated,” the conservative politician said in a statement in Solingen.
According to him, the case shows how incredibly complicated the process is for the responsible authorities.
