Court rules al-Qaeda supporter can stay in 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 It has withdrawn the annulment of the man’s provisional admission.

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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

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