Germany deported a man to Syria on Tuesday, the first such removal since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, marking a significant shift in Berlin’s migration policy after years of deeming returns to Syria too dangerous. 

What happened: The German Interior Ministry said a Syrian national who had been convicted of multiple criminal offenses in Germany was flown to Damascus early Tuesday morning and handed over to Syrian authorities. Germany’s BILD newspaper, which first reported the case, said the man was a Syrian citizen born in 1988 who had lived in Germany for several years. He had served a prison sentence in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia for aggravated robbery, bodily harm and extortion. 

“Our society has a legitimate interest in ensuring that criminals leave our country,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement. “Deportations to Syria and Afghanistan must be possible,” he added. 

The deportation follows months of political signaling by the new........

© Al Monitor