Overview

• A 26-year-old Afghan Christian convert was detained just outside the Dreieinigkeitskirche in Berlin-Steglitz after leaving its grounds and then transferred to Sweden under the Dublin Regulation.
• Authorities confirmed police respected the inviolability of the church by not entering its premises in line with Berlin’s directive on Kirchenasyl.
• Two other Afghan converts continue to shelter inside the Dreieinigkeitskirche as Berlin and Hamburg dispute which state must process their asylum claims.
• Hamburg’s mayor accused Berlin of systematically abusing church asylum while Berlin offered to let Hamburg’s officers enforce Dublin deportations.
• Church leaders warn that sending the deportee to Sweden exposes him to deportation procedures that could ultimately return him to Afghanistan, where he faces grave danger.