The German government’s move to turn away asylum seekers at the country’s borders is unlawful, a Berlin court ruled on Monday.

The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration.

Shortly after taking office in April, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered border checks to be stepped up and advised police to turn back irregular migrants, even if they applied for asylum.

In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the court ruled in favour of three Somalis.

The Somalis were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9, judging that they should have been handled under the European Union’s so-called Dublin procedure for asylum cases.

Under the Dublin Regulation, police are not allowed to simply turn asylum seekers back at the border.

Instead, German authorities must initiate a complicated procedure to transfer them back to the country where they first entered the EU.

The court rejected the government’s argument that the regulation could be suspended due to a “national emergency,” suggesting there was not “sufficient evidence of a threat to public safety or order.”

It said the Dublin Regulation must be carried out in every case, although it also specified that the decision does not grant migrants’ entry permits to Germany, as carrying out the procedure should be possible at the point of crossing. 

(dpa/NAN)