Status: 09/22/2022 5:16 p.m
After mobilization, many Russians are afraid of being drafted into military service – and are therefore trying to leave the country. Interior Minister Faeser has now declared that deserters can apply for asylum in Germany.
Russian deserters who are threatened with severe repression should “as a rule” receive international protection in Germany – said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. Anyone who opposes the Russian regime and is therefore “in great danger” can apply for asylum because of political persecution. The decision-making practice of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has already been adjusted accordingly. However, the granting of asylum is a case-by-case decision, which also includes a security check.
For months, Germany has been taking in Russian regime critics who are being persecuted and threatened, the minister added. Russia’s increasingly brutal aggression against Ukraine is being accompanied by ever-increasing internal repression, particularly against the press, human rights activists and members of the opposition. According to Faeser, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “boundless contempt for humanity” does not stop at his own soldiers.
“Anyone who hates Putin’s path is welcome”
After the Kremlin announced that 300,000 reservists had been called up, many young men tried to leave Russia on Wednesday. Flights abroad were quickly booked up. The coalition partners FDP and Greens then called for Russian deserters to be taken in. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said: “Anyone who hates Putin’s path and loves liberal democracy is very welcome in Germany.”
A spokeswoman for the EU Commission also emphasized on Thursday that those affected have the right to apply for asylum in the EU. In principle, safety aspects must also be taken into account. They are working with the EU countries to find a common approach. Already at the beginning of the war, church representatives had demanded that deserters and conscientious objectors from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus should be granted asylum in this country. The threat of military service, for example, is often cited by asylum seekers from Eritrea as a reason for fleeing.
NGOs are demanding entry routes
Meanwhile, the conscientious objector network Connection warned of the dangers of partial mobilization. “No one in Russia between the ages of 18 and 60 can be sure that they won’t be drafted,” said Rudi Friedrich from “Connection” to the newspapers of the Funke media group. The association is currently receiving numerous inquiries from Russians in Germany who are worried about their relatives in Russia. Many are unsettled: “There is a lack of clarity as to who is to be drafted and who is not – or not yet.” In such cases, Germany should not insist “that formal documents such as the draft order are available,” warned the peace activist.
The Pro Asyl organization also criticized the need to create entry options for those affected. “If you want to give them protection, you have to establish a procedure for these people to cross the European external borders,” said Pro-Asyl managing director Günter Burkhardt. One viable option would be to issue humanitarian visas to affected Russians who have managed to travel to countries like Georgia or Turkey.