2018 Ellwangen police raid explained

A police raid in Ellwangen, Germany, on 30 April 2018 led to clashes between the German police and migrants living there. A second raid was conducted on 3 May 2018, in which 12 people were injured. The case received national as well as international media attention, sparking the public debate about migrant integration and the deportation process.[1]

Background

The migrant reception center "Landeserstaufnahmeeinrichtung Ellwangen" (LEA) was established in April 2015 in some buildings of the Reinhardt-Kaserne in Ellwangen, a former military facility. Immigrants who arrive in the administrative district of Stuttgart are brought to this center for their registration, health checks and the start of an asylum procedure. They usually stay for some weeks in Ellwangen, before they are assigned to other towns. The facility was once planned to have a capacity of 500 - 1000 inhabitants.[2]

Incidents

In the morning hours of Monday, 30 April 2018, four police officers went with two patrol cars to the migrant reception center to arrest the 23-year-old Yussif O., an asylum seeker from Togo, who was scheduled for deportation to Italy.[3] They found Yussif O. in the center and arrested him. When the officers tried to leave the site, they were surrounded by about 150 migrant reception residents who threatened them and damaged one police car, preventing the police officers from leaving.[4] Alassa Mfouapon, from Cameroon, co-organized the asylum seekers,[5] [6] "[7] It would have taken hours for police reinforcements to arrive..[8] [1] [9]

Three days later a second raid was conducted with hundreds of policemen to re-establish the rule of law.[4] [10] They arrested Yussif O. In addition, several persons suspected of drugs offences were arrested, and 17 residents were moved of the hostel, home to around 500 mostly African asylum seekers, to other locations.[1] 27 asylum seekers offered resistance, while some were injured, when they jumped out of the windows.[4] 292 people were checked, twelve people were injured in total, among these one police officer.[11]

Bernhard Weber, the vice president of the Ellwangen police regional authority (German: Vizepräsident des Polizeipräsidiums Ellwangen),[12] said they acted because of concerns that a "lawless area with organised structures" was developing at the shelter.[13]

Aftermath

On 8 May 2018, the Stuttgart Administrative Court ruled that the deportation order for the man from Togo to Italy was legal.[14] O. then called the Federal Constitutional Court.[15] On 14 May 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that O. could be deported, and he was deported to Italy subsequently.[16] Die Zeit reported his case and that he arrived in Milan,[17] [18] but Die Welt reported that he was in Rome and homeless;[19] It was discovered by police in Milan that he was not a Togo national[20] and that he wanted to go back to his homeland Ghana.[21]

On 10 May, the inhabitants of the shelter offered a press conference. Alassa Mfouapon said: "We are not criminals."[22]

On 11 May, African inhabitants of the migrant shelter in Ellwangen held a small march to protest deportations, joined by "a few greying activists" from the Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany.[23]

Alassa Mfouapon, the co-organizer of the April 30th insurrection event, was deported to Italy,[24] but returned to Germany a few months later and now lives in Karlsruhe.[25] [26] In a reportage by public broadcaster Südwestrundfunk, it was said Mfouapon might not be an instigator of rebellion, but only a resister who is now back in Germany.[27]

Reactions

Reacting to the legal proceedings led by Yussif O. and his lawyer, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) spoke of an "anti-deportation industry", working to prevent legal deportations.[28] [29] This was heavily criticized by the German Bar Association, and complaints against him were made by some lawyers.[30] Dobrindt hardened his criticism, speaking of "deportation saboteurs". The Left, a German political party, accused Dobrindt of "poisoning" the "social peace", while Baden-Württemberg deputy Minister President Thomas Strobl (CDU) expressed his support for Dobrindt and called his criticism "comprehensible".[31] As a consequence of the case, other CDU politicians, such as Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer demanded a reduction in development aid for countries that fail to cooperate with deportations.[32] Armin Schuster (CDU) stated: "In our constitutional state, there are clear red lines, which are now deliberately exceeded almost daily by asylum seekers." He demanded quicker deportations for criminal asylum seekers.[33]

Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, thanked the police, adding: "We do not tolerate any legal vacuum, and this attack on police officers must be punished". As a consequence of the events, Irene Mihalic of the Green Party criticized plans of the Federal government, especially the Interior Ministry, to establish "anchor centres" (Ankerzentren) for migrants, which are planned by the government to organize faster deportations.[34]

Notes and References

  1. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-germany-police/german-police-raid-migrant-shelter-after-clashes-idUKKBN1I40N5 Clashes at migrant hostel stir German integration fears
  2. Stadt Ellwangen: Landeserstaufnahmeeinrichtung Ellwangen (LEA), retrieved 2 August 2018
  3. https://www.dw.com/en/scores-of-refugees-attack-german-police-cars-over-deportation-case/a-43631175 Scores of refugees attack German police cars over deportation case
  4. http://www.dw.com/en/german-police-catch-fugitive-asylum-seeker-following-raid/a-43638039 German police catch fugitive asylum-seeker following raid
  5. https://bnn.de/lokales/karlsruhe/nach-unruhe-in-ellwangen-fluechtling-lebt-jetzt-in-karlsruhe Nach Unruhe in Ellwangen: Flüchtling lebt jetzt in Karlsruhe
  6. News: Why was he allowed to enter Germany again? . 16 January 2019 . . 31 December 2018 . de . he also organized the "solidary and non-violent" resistance to the deportation of Togolese Yussif O., which was then escalated by "martial police violence"..
  7. Web site: Following a brutal and politically motivated deportation: Alassa Mfouapon must be returned immediately and be granted political asylum in Germany! . MLPD.de . Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany . 16 January 2019 . en . 2018 . he soon becomes a confidant, a speaker, a friend and organizer among refugees – their “leader”. . 16 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201319/https://www.mlpd.de/en/following-a-brutal-and-politically-motivated-deportation-alassa-mfouapon-must-be-returned-immediately-and-be-granted-political-asylum-in-germany . dead .
  8. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/migrants-germany-prevent-deportation-congo-ellwangen-a8333251.html Hundreds of migrants in German town prevent deportation of man to Congo
  9. News: Cockburn . Harry . Hundreds of migrants in German town prevent deportation of man to Congo . 17 June 2018 . The Independent . 2 May 2018.
  10. News: Markus Melzl . The trauma of Ellwangen . 17 June 2018 . . 24 May 2018 . de . The fact that the rule of law could only be restored through the use of hundreds of policemen clearly shows that such an action is doomed to failure.
  11. News: David Falkner . After unrest in Ellwangen: Refugee now lives in Karlsruhe . 16 January 2019 . . 4 January 2019 . de . twelve people were injured in the operation, including one civil servant.
  12. News: Seehofer über Ellwangen: "Schlag ins Gesicht der rechtstreuen Bevölkerung". FAZ.NET. 2018-11-13. de. 0174-4909.
  13. News: Clashes at migrant hostel stir German integration fears. 3 May 2018. Reuters U.K.. 2018-11-09. en-GB. Senior officer Bernhard Weber said police believed a ‘lawless area with organised structures’ was developing at the hostel to prevent authorities carrying out deportations, so they took action..
  14. https://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.nach-abschiebe-eklat-in-ellwangen-abschiebung-des-togoers-nach-italien-zulaessig.56287459-4122-44cb-9537-a66b7e983fb9.html Abschiebung des Togoers nach Italien zulässig
  15. https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2018-05/ellwangen-togoer-klage-abschiebung-bundesverfassungsgericht-karlsruhe Togoer klagt in Karlsruhe gegen Abschiebung
  16. https://www.bz-berlin.de/deutschland/togolese-yussif-o-ist-abgeschoben Togolese Yussif O. ist abgeschoben
  17. News: Ellwangen: Was wurde aus Yussif O.?. 24 May 2018. ZEIT ONLINE. 2018-11-09. de.
  18. News: Togolese asylum-seeker who fought deportation lands in Italy . 17 June 2018 . Deutsche Welle . 15 May 2018 . The man has arrived in Milan one day after authorities denied his appeal to stay in Germany..
  19. https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article176613258/Yussif-O-Abgeschobener-Togoer-aus-Ellwangen-jetzt-obdachlos-in-Rom.html Abgeschobener Togoer aus Ellwangen jetzt obdachlos in Rom
  20. News: Deferred refugee apparently comes from Ghana . 17 June 2018 . Wochen Kurier . 17 May 2018 . de . When he arrived in Italy in 2017, he also had Ghanaian papers with him. When entering Germany, however, the man had claimed to have no papers. .
  21. News: Deported refugee from Ellwangen lives homeless in Rome . 17 June 2018 . . 23 May 2018 . de . He was not from Togo, but Ghana and wanted to go back there..
  22. News: Why Ellwangen's refugees fear Italy . 16 January 2019 . . 10 May 2018 . de . "That which was reported last week, we are not," says Alassa. "We are not criminals.".
  23. News: "Stopp, stopp, stopp Deportation". Schwäbisches Tagblatt online. 2018-11-20. de-DE. Die da nun mit „Pace“-Fahnen und Trommeln durch die Stadt ziehen, sehen nicht wie Schwerverbrecher aus. Auch mischen sich keine linksextremen Krawallmacher unter die Schar. Nur einige ergraute Aktivisten der Marxistisch-Leninistischen Partei (MLPD) stimmen „Hoch die internationale Solidarität!“ an..
  24. News: Deported Cameroonian is back in Germany . 16 January 2019 . . 29 December 2018 . de . Alassa Mfouapon from Cameroon organized a demonstration against a police operation in May at the Landeserstaufnahmeeinrichtung (LEA) in Ellwangen (Ostalbkreis) together with other asylum seekers. He was then deported to Italy in June..
  25. News: Falkner . David . After unrest in Ellwangen: Refugee now lives in Karlsruhe . 16 January 2019 . BNN . 4 December 2019 . de . Following his deportation, the Cameroonian, who co-organized the demonstration of asylum seekers, filed a lawsuit against the police operation from Italy, reports the SWR. The man named Alassa Mfouapon also has supporters in Germany.
  26. News: Alassa Mfouapon is back! . 16 January 2019 . Rote Fahne News . 22 December 2018 . de.
  27. News: Why Alassa Mfouapon came back . 16 January 2019 . . 8 January 2019 . de . In Medienberichten wurde Alassa Mfouapon aus Kamerun vorgeworfen, er habe einen Flüchtlingsaufstand angezettelt. Dagegen wehrt sich der 29-Jährige. Nach seiner Abschiebung ist er wieder in Deutschland..
  28. https://www.zeit.de/2018/22/ellwangen-abschiebung-yussif-o Der Staatsfeind
  29. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/alexander-dobrindt-csu-landesgruppenchef-beklagt-anti-abschiebe-industrie-a-1206430.html Dobrindt beklagt "Anti-Abschiebe-Industrie"
  30. http://www.fr.de/politik/flucht-zuwanderung/anti-abschiebe-industrie-anwaelte-zeigen-alexander-dobrindt-an-a-1510332 Anwälte zeigen Alexander Dobrindt an
  31. https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/dobrindt-abschiebung-101.html Dobrindt setzt noch einen drauf
  32. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/nach-ellwangen-union-droht-herkunftslaendern-mit-entzug-von-entwicklungshilfe-15575779.html Union droht mit Entzug von Entwicklungshilfe
  33. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/abschiebung-nach-ellwangen-haerteres-durchgreifen-gefordert-15571339.html Geflüchteter Togolese gefunden
  34. https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2018-05/ellwangen-die-gruenen-bundesregierung-fluechtlinge-kritik-regierungsplaene Grüne kritisieren Pläne für Sammelunterkünfte

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