On Thursday morning, Austria’s Interior Ministry carried out the deportation of a Syrian national convicted of terrorist activities with ties to the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS) back to Syria. This marked the first deportation to Syria in 15 years, according to the ministry. The deportation had been postponed last week due to the closure of Syrian airspace following the escalation of the Middle East conflict.
“This deportation is part of a strict and therefore fair asylum policy,” emphasized Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP). He stated that Austria would continue the effort to deport convicted criminals, including to Syria, “with hard work and determination,” and expressed confidence that more deportations would follow soon. Preparations are already underway.
32-year-old convicted in 2018 of terrorist association, sentenced to seven years
The 32-year-old man had been convicted in November 2018 by the Salzburg Regional Court for involvement with the Islamic State and sentenced to seven years in prison. He had acted as a kind of “media jihadist,” aiming to recruit members for IS and spread propaganda using photos, videos, films, image collages, and graphics depicting past or upcoming terror attacks to instill fear in European civil society. He used numerous platforms for marketing and recruitment, including Google, Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook, Telegram, Blogspot, YouTube, Instagram, and WordPress—operating approximately 30 Twitter accounts alone. Authorities seized 40,000 files from his electronic devices.
Due to this conviction, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) revoked his asylum status in February 2019 and issued a return decision with a permanent entry ban. However, at the time, deportation to Syria was ruled inadmissible due to conditions in the country.
Released in late 2024, reapplied for asylum
In December 2024, the man was released after serving his sentence. As the conditions for pre-deportation detention were not met, the BFA imposed a lighter measure requiring daily check-ins at a police station, which he complied with. In November 2024—still before his release—he submitted a second asylum application. The BFA rejected this in April 2025 and issued another return decision with a permanent entry ban. This time, the deportation to Syria was deemed admissible due to the changed situation following the fall of the Assad regime. The decision was based on country guidance from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).
The man was again taken into custody in March 2025 for a further criminal offense and sentenced in May to two months in prison. After serving this sentence, he was placed in pre-deportation detention and his deportation was prepared.
According to Karner, the man was deported on a scheduled flight via Istanbul to the Syrian capital, Damascus. The minister made the statement at Vienna Airport before departing for Sofia, where he will visit the EU’s external border with Turkey on Friday.
Karner laid groundwork with visit to Syria
Austria’s intention to proceed with deportations had been signaled for some time. At the end of April, Karner traveled to Syria with then-German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, holding talks with the new leadership and agreeing on “concrete steps” regarding returns and deportations.
Karner emphasized that the personal meeting with the Syrian interior minister made cooperation possible. However, since an official agreement with Syria’s new post-Assad government cannot yet be concluded, the meeting served as a foundational step.
Austria first EU country to officially deport to Syria
Deportations from EU member states to Syria remain highly uncommon. Although Eurostat data suggests a few dozen people may have been transferred from countries like Romania and Hungary in recent months, whether these deportations actually took place is unclear. According to the Austrian Interior Ministry, Austria is the first EU country in recent years to officially deport a convicted Syrian criminal directly to Syria. Since the fall of the Assad regime, 350 Syrians have voluntarily returned to their home country, according to the ministry.
