A German ISIS fighter facing the death penalty and held in prison in Syria is suing Germany in a bid to force the state to bring him home.
The man named only as Fabian G., 26, is currently in prison in Kurdish custody in northern Syria, according to his German lawyers Seda Basay-Yildiz and Ali Aydin.
Fabian G. went to Syria in 2014 alongside his brother to join IS terrorists. The men’s father has been fighting for their return to Germany for some time. He alleges that he was notified that his sons had been killed in battle in 2016 by the State Protection Office in Kassel, a city in central Germany.
However, their father claims he was sceptical and was convinced they were still alive.
In Spring 2019, he travelled to northern Syria and says he was able to identify one of his sons from a distance in a prison. He claims that officials told him he would be able to leave the country if Germany made an official application for his deportation.
The German lawyers Seda Basay-Yildiz and Ali Aydin who are representing him said: “From our point of view the German Federal Government is constitutionally obliged to return Fabian G. back to Germany. To date the Federal Republic of Germany has not done so.
“Political motives are the reason behind their failure to do so.”
They added: “This is due to their responsibility to protect and trust.”
Lawyer Basay-Yildiz has been racially abused and her family has been threatened after representing alleged IS fighters in other cases.
The lawsuit has been filed with the Administrative Court in the German capital of Berlin. A trial date is yet to be set.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that they currently do not have any diplomatic relations with the Syrian government.
They said: “The German government cannot guarantee legal and consular duties for jailed German citizens due to the armed conflict there.”
There is no mention on the whereabouts of his brother.
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Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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