The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has once again stepped in to halt a deportation to Syria—this time blocking the removal from Austria of a Syrian national with multiple criminal convictions.
The Strasbourg-based court issued what it called an “interim measure,” temporarily preventing the deportation until at least September 8th, while it reviews the case in full.
Austria’s interior ministry confirmed the decision on Tuesday, August 12th, but played down its significance, calling it “absolutely nothing unusual,” adding that “all preparations for the execution of this and further deportations to Syria will continue.”
Refugee aid groups welcomed the court’s intervention, saying that Syria remains a country in a state of war and cannot guarantee the most basic human rights, despite the fall of the Assad regime.
But for right-wing opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ), the decision is nothing short of scandalous.
Party leader Herbert Kickl accused the government of hiding behind press conferences while failing to enforce its own policies, and called the ruling another example of the government’s “total failure.”
The grandly staged asylum show by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has collapsed today. That a multiple convicted criminal is allowed to stay because the ECtHR orders it is a bankruptcy declaration of the ÖVP’s [People’s Party] security policy.
Kickl said that the government prefers to “protect criminals instead of Austrians,” bending to supranational judges instead of applying national laws.
He described the government’s toughness on migration as a “PR facade,” and said symbolic gestures— such as sending letters to EU institutions—cannot change that.
The case is the latest in a growing series of ECtHR interventions that have angered governments across Europe, who argue the court has strayed far beyond its original mandate.
Denmark and Italy recently drafted a joint letter accusing the European court of going “too far” in interpreting asylum laws on behalf of illegal migrants, undermining the sovereignty of its 46 member states.
The letter—which other countries including Austria backed—warns that the court is limiting democratically elected governments’ ability to “make political decisions in our own democracies.”
While nations from Poland to Sweden are tightening their asylum laws, the ECtHR continues to block deportations and rule against measures such as border pushbacks.
As europeanconservative.com columnist Lauren Smith recently spelled it out:
Why is the safety of foreign offenders so regularly being prioritised over that of the existing population? How have we reached a point where it is easier to guarantee the rights of a convicted rapist, drug dealer, or jihadist than it is to ensure ordinary people do not fall victim to crime? The ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] has effectively made it illegal for European nations to protect their own borders and their own people.