Syrian Man Sentenced To 5.5 Years In Prison In Germany For Organizing Illegal Migration Through Belarus

Reform.news Editorial Team · 13 November 2026, 16:29

https://reform.news/en/syrian-man-sentenced-to-5-5-years-in-prison-in-germany-for-organizing-illegal-migration-through-belarus/

A regional court in Kiel, Germany, sentenced a 30-year-old man to five and a half years in prison on November 11 for organizing the illegal smuggling of foreign nationals, NDR reports.

The man was found guilty on 10 counts. According to the prosecution, he smuggled more than 40 people into Germany, mostly citizens of Syria and Iraq. One person died during one of these operations.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay the state approximately €19,000, which he had earned from transporting migrants.

As NDR previously reported, the trial began in March 2026. The defendant is a 30-year-old Syrian citizen. He had evaded law enforcement for some time and lived in Kiel for several years. He was arrested in September 2025.

The incidents for which the man was charged took place between March and November 2025. He mainly organized the transportation of migrants to Kiel.

According to the investigation, in October 2021 he and an accomplice attempted to smuggle eight Syrian citizens from Belarus through Poland. At night, the group was supposed to cross the Bug River at the Belarusian-Polish border using four inflatable boats. One of the boats capsized in the middle of the river. One man managed to swim to the Polish bank, while the other, a Syrian citizen, drowned.

The indictment mentions that Belarusian military personnel were present at the scene during these events.

At the first court hearing in March, the defendant’s lawyers said that the military personnel had forced the migrants to get into the inflatable boats.