A recent fatal attack in Aschaffenburg has prompted the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to propose a revised approach to detaining asylum seekers who have committed crimes and are subject to deportation.
According to a policy paper by FDP Fraktionsvize Konstantin Kuhle, the party argues that it is not acceptable for asylum seekers who are required to leave the country to be detained only after a series of criminal offenses. The paper suggests that a person who is subject to deportation and has been convicted of a crime should not be eligible for a suspended sentence, but instead should be imprisoned.
Furthermore, the FDP proposal would allow judges to order the detention of an asylum seeker as soon as they are convicted of a single crime, rather than waiting for a pattern of repeat offenses to emerge.
The FDP policy paper cites the requirement of a positive social prognosis as a condition for suspending a prison sentence. However, the party argues that in cases where an individual has no prospect of remaining in Germany, a positive social prognosis cannot be assumed.
FDP Fraktionsvize Konstantin Kuhle told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that the current approach to detaining asylum seekers who have committed crimes is insufficient, as it allows individuals who have already committed serious offenses to remain at large.
The alleged attacker in the Aschaffenburg case has not yet been convicted of a crime, but had been required to serve a term of imprisonment in lieu of a fine since December 2024.