FAQ
Status: 09/27/2022 5:48 p.m
After partial mobilization in Russia, deserters face harsh penalties. More and more politicians are now demanding the admission of Russians who do not want to fight in Ukraine. But is it that easy?
Can anyone who doesn’t want to fight get asylum in Germany?
German law implements a European directive. According to this, a conscientious objector has a right to asylum under certain conditions.
In principle, the following applies: Not every type of conscientious objection leads to recognition under asylum law. Because: “According to international law, every state has the right to recruit its own members for war or military service,” says Winfried Kluth. Kluth is a professor of public law at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg and specializes in asylum law. The limit exists where people who have been conscripted into the military are more likely to have to take part in war crimes, as the European Court of Justice has laid down in a landmark decision (26 February 2015, C-472/13).
“And according to everything we know about the Russian warfare in Ukraine, there is a high probability of being involved in crimes,” said Kluth. This cooperation does not have to be immediate. It is sufficient if the asylum seeker is used as a driver, for example. The specific case before the ECJ concerned a US soldier who was stationed in Germany. As a trained helicopter maintenance technician, he was to take part in the Iraq war. However, he left the army as he considered the war at the time illegal. He no longer wanted to participate in the war crimes that he believed were being committed there. Even if it was a completely different war, the principles should be transferrable. “From the point of view of the ECJ, it was enough to have to take part in the war as a helicopter mechanic in order to be granted asylum in Germany. This would therefore also be the case in the case of Russian conscientious objectors,” believes Kluth. However, an examination in individual cases is always decisive.
Is the mere fear of punishment for not taking up military service also a reason for asylum?
Not necessarily, according to Kluth. “A normal sanction is permitted under international law because it is recognized that a state can in principle oblige its citizens for defense purposes.” According to the standards of the Geneva Refugee Convention, it would be relevant if the punishment is disproportionately high or imposed arbitrarily – for example if a prison camp is ordered.
Is there still a need for political action?
In order to be able to apply for asylum in Germany and thus obtain a decision at all in individual cases, those affected must first be able to enter Germany. However, a visa is required for this, for example for humanitarian reasons. The federal government could issue such a visa to Russian conscientious objectors – which has not usually happened in Europe and Germany to date. If such visas are granted, it would be “a 180-degree political turnaround” for Kluth.
Rudi Friedrich works for the association Connection eV, which advises and supports conscientious objectors. He sees the main problems for fleeing Russians in the closed EU borders: “We are therefore calling for the chance of a visa to even come into the country and protection for those fleeing military service.” According to the association, which refers to Rosstat, 420,000 people left Russia in the first half of 2022. Of these, 100,000 men were in some way conscripted for military service. However, only 1,000 people had applied for asylum in the European Union, the rest had fled to other countries. Countries that do not require a visa, such as Armenia.
Are there other recording options?
In addition to the asylum procedure, the EU could take other measures that do not require an individual assessment. For example, it could grant temporary protection to certain groups of people. There, belonging to this group is sufficient, as is the case with refugees from Ukraine. As an alternative to the asylum procedure, a special reception program for Russian conscientious objectors could also be considered – such as for Russian media workers or scientists. Whether you want something like that is a political question.