Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Court rules al-Qaeda supporter can stay in Switzerland

The Federal Administrative Court in St Gallen, Switzerland.
The Federal Administrative Court in St Gallen, Switzerland. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

A Kurdish supporter of the Islamist terrorist network al-Qaeda can stay in Switzerland, the Federal Administrative Court has ruled. It has withdrawn the annulment of the man’s provisional admission.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The man, who is originally from Iraq, came to Switzerland in 1998 and was granted asylum. He was arrested in 2008 because of his activities on internet forums linked to jihadist networks. His residence status was annulled due to these acts as well as irregularities in the asylum procedure.

In January 2016, the man and his brother were convicted of supporting a criminal organisation and forgery. He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison and deportation, along with an indefinite ban on entering Switzerland.

However, since these measures were not enforced, he was granted temporary admission. In 2023, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) determined that the admission had to be revoked due to the amendment to the Foreigners and Integration Act (AIG) that had been made in the meantime.

Judgment not yet final

In its ruling, the Federal Administrative Court has now overturned the SEM’s decision. It states that the possibility of revoking the licence, particularly in the case of terrorist activities, provided for in the recent version of the law only came into force after the decision in favour of the complainant.

However, the AIG does not provide for retroactive application of this provision.

The court ruling is final, but the final word in this case has not yet been spoken. The Federal Office of Police decided to deport the man in July 2023. An appeal against this decision is also pending before the Federal Administrative Court.

Translated from German with DeepL/sb

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

Dieselgate scandal: In 2015 it emerged that millions of VW diesel-powered vehicles had been manipulated to pass environmental standards.

More

Swiss prosecutors close VW ‘Dieselgate’ case

This content was published on The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has closed criminal proceedings relating to the Swiss owners affected by the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” emissions scandal.

Read more: Swiss prosecutors close VW ‘Dieselgate’ case
Employment prospects remain stable in the fourth quarter

More

Q4 job prospects in Switzerland remain stable

This content was published on The employment outlook in Switzerland will remain stable towards the end of 2024, according to the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich.

Read more: Q4 job prospects in Switzerland remain stable
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.

More

Swiss woman accuses Donald Trump of sexual assault

This content was published on A former Miss Switzerland candidate has accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in New York in 1993. The US Republican candidate’s campaign team has denied the accusations.

Read more: Swiss woman accuses Donald Trump of sexual assault

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR