Mentally Distressed Eritrean Permitted Entry Into Germany
A Berlin court ruled that federal police must allow a 29-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker to enter Germany, finding his rejection at the Polish border likely violated Dublin Regulation procedures.
The case highlights growing judicial resistance to border enforcement measures as Germany attempts to control irregular migration flows at its eastern frontier, according to Junge Freiheit.
The Eritrean man had traveled to Germany via Dubai, Belarus, and Poland before being apprehended in Schleswig-Holstein in September 2025. During questioning, he claimed to have been imprisoned for 18 months in his home country and stated he faced renewed detention if returned. He also filed an asylum application at that time.
Federal police subsequently ordered his deportation back to Poland and imposed a two-year ban on entry and residence in Germany. In March 2026, the man attempted to re-enter Germany at the Gubinek border crossing as a passenger in a vehicle. Border officers conducted a control, refused him entry, and ordered his immediate return to Poland.
Court Invokes Dublin Regulation
The administrative court granted the man’s emergency petition, determining he had credibly demonstrated that he expressed a request for protection while already on German soil. According to the judges, this fact legally obligates federal police to allow his entry and initiate a Dublin procedure.
Under the Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers cannot simply be turned away at the border if they request protection in Germany. Authorities must first determine which European state holds jurisdiction for processing the asylum claim. In most cases, responsibility lies with the first EU member state where a migrant was registered.
Psychological Condition Cited as Factor
The court also pointed to potential severe disadvantages for the Eritrean man, who was described as suffering from significant psychological distress. The decision stated that the rejection and deportation to Poland would very likely prove unlawful in the main proceedings.
This ruling represents part of a pattern. Last year, a court halted the rejection of asylum seekers during border controls on German territory in a case involving three Somali nationals who had been returned to Poland from Frankfurt an der Oder, as Junge Freiheit previously reported.
The decision underscores ongoing tensions between government border security policies and judicial interpretations of EU asylum law, potentially complicating efforts to manage migration at Germany’s eastern borders.
With information from Junge Freiheit
