Around three years after the investigation into alleged irregularities in the Bremen branch of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), the proceedings against the then head of the authority are still ongoing. There is still no specific date for the opening of the main hearing, said a spokesman for the Bremen regional court on request. The process should start in the first half of the year.
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The former head of the branch office and a lawyer have to answer. The main proceedings against a third accused – also a lawyer – will not be opened, as the court decided in November.
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After reviewing the positive asylum notices issued by the then director, the Bamf had withdrawn or revoked the protection status of some foreigners. However, these decisions did not hold up in court in all cases. Whether asylum seekers were returned to the EU countries responsible for their procedures because these so-called Dublin cases were deliberately processed or too late due to work overload was not part of the examination, according to the Interior Ministry.
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The former head continues to be a civil servant, but is released from work, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. “The Federal Office only has to assess the disciplinary aspects. This can only be done after the court proceedings have been concluded,” said Bamf President Hans-Eckhard Sommer.
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Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) released Bamf President Jutta Cordt from her duties after the allegations became known in June 2018. He appointed Sommer to the post who had previously been employed in the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. In September 2018, Sommer had said in the Interior Committee of the Bundestag that the extent of the misconduct in Bremen “was not quite as great as it was initially in the room”. But that is “no reason to downplay the incidents”.
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Even before the affair in Bremen, it was noticed that the recognition rates for asylum seekers differed greatly from state to state. It was particularly high in Bremen. A study by the University of Konstanz came to the conclusion that Bamf employees take into account the “perceived sensitivities” of the federal state in which their decision-making center is located.
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