| There is no question that the attack in Solingen is horrific. Our full solidarity and sympathy go out to the bereaved and the injured. At the same time, however, we resolutely oppose the resulting wave of racism and disenfranchisement sweeping across the country. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has endorsed the federal government's decision that the response to the events in Solingen should be drastic curtailments of refugees' rights. As a result, the central immigration authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia now have access to the attendance and absence tracking systems in asylum seeker accommodations. Lawyer Piotrowski explains: "This is unacceptable under data protection law and violates the fundamental rights of those affected, in particular the fundamental right to informational self-determination." The government speaks of expanding the grounds for deportation. We call instead for a discussion about the root causes of crime. The government states that the grounds for exclusion from asylum and refugee status are to be tightened. We say that the right to asylum and refugee protection are absolute fundamental rights that are non-negotiable. The government says it wants to strengthen Dublin transfers financially and in terms of personnel. We demand that no people be transferred to countries with systemic deficiencies. The government plans to deprive people in the Dublin procedure of their subsistence allowance. We say that this violates human rights and our constitution. The government says it wants to deport people back to Afghanistan and Syria and is already implementing this in Afghanistan. We say that human rights are systematically violated there and therefore such plans violate the Basic Law and international law, to which the Federal Republic of Germany is also bound. Lawyer Knitsch from the RAV counters: "Protection from the systematic violation of human rights must also apply to people who have been convicted of a crime."The government says it wants to increase the number of detention places for deportees. We are discussing the fact that over 50% of official detention practices during deportation proceedings are already unlawful and are therefore overturned by the courts. The state government plans to cut all funding for asylum procedure counseling centers in state reception facilities. We demand that this fundamental guarantee of the rule of law be upheld. Asylum seekers must not become targets of state repression. These measures will not address the root causes of crime, but rather make asylum seekers the target of further disenfranchisement, racism, and discrimination, and encourage further exclusion. Contacts:Attorney Peter Knitsch, Tel. +49 2104/808826, rapeter.knitsch@t-online.de;Attorney Saskia Piotrowski, Tel.: +49 221/973128-80, piotrowski@anwaeltinnenkollektivkoeln.de |
| Republican Lawyers' Association (e.V.) Greifswalder Str. 4 10405 Berlin Germany +49 30 41723555 presse@rav.de www.rav.de Managing Director: Dr. Lukas Theune |
