The German government made the announcement during a conference and said as well as those radicalised by Islamic State they will also welcome back Germans suspected of having been involved with ISIS. A spokesman for the country’s interior ministry said: “All German citizens, including those who are suspected of having been involved with the Islamic State have a fundamental right.” The chief government spokesman added that Germany was in close talks with the US as well as with Britain and France with regard to European citizens detained in Syria. The announcement follows news Germany – the EU’s biggest financial provider – opened their doors to more than a million asylum seekers over a three-year period.
Up to 890,000 sought refuge in the state in 2015, followed by 280,000 in 2016 and 186,644 in 2017 meaning the nation had taken in more than any other EU state.
Most migrants entering Germany are from crisis regions such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to data from the German interior ministry.
The policy resulted in a so-called ‘immigration crisis’ sparking fury towards Chancellor Angela Merkel over her open-door refuge policy.
Late last year she hit back at criticisms by claiming Germany’s ageing and shrinking workforce means the country needs more flexibility to fill more than a million empty positions.
She said: “We will continue to depend on foreign professionals.”
Her immigration policy resulted in mass protests in regions such as Chemnitz, particularly after news a German national was stabbed to death by two men from Syria and Iraq.
Far-right and far-left groups violently clashed, with the Chancellor stepping in and saying that “vigilante justice” would not be tolerated.
Recently, Ms Merkel announced she was stepping down from her coveted role in 2021 – weeks before the troubled nation narrowly avoided a crushing recession.