German Immigration Officials Find at Least 10% of Asylum Decisions Erroneous

Following the case of Franco A., a Bundeswehr soldier who led a double life and pretended to be a Syrian asylum seeker to plot a terrorist attack in Germany directed against migrants, the Federal Office for Migration started an inquiry into 2,000 other asylum cases, the German media reported.

How did it happen that Bundeswehr soldier Franco A, who had been suspected of plotting a anti-refugee attack, was recognized by the Federal Office for Migration as a Syrian refugee, remains unclear. Reports, however, say that the incident happened due to serious shortcomings in the work of the country's migration services.

According to Berliner Zeitung, the man's invented story about being a Syrian refugee had not even been properly investigated. The migration service didn't check his knowledge of Arabic or any other details provided by the "migrant."

The sad thing is that Franco A. is not an individual case. Following the review of 2,000 cases of single men between the ages of 18 and 45 (1600 Syrians, 400 Afghans) who applied for asylum, approximately 10 to 15 percent of the decisions to grant asylum turned out to be erroneous.

As result, the German authorities are organizing renewed hearings, more intensive passport examinations and repeating medical tests among potential refugees.
Franco A. applied for asylum under the name of David Benjamin. At the hearing, he said he was born on February 8, 1988, according to reports. He also said he was a Syrian Christian, a learned farmer and was persecuted for his faith. Moreover, he claimed to have never been accepted in Syria because of his Jewish-sounding name.

According to the man's story, he fled "his home country" after an attack conducted by Daesh. His father was killed; he himself was injured by a shell splinter.

Later, the shocking truth was revealed. The man turned out to be a soldier of the German Army, allegedly had ties with right-wing extremist and terrorist groups and was suspected of plotting an attack on German soil.