Syria’s embassy in Berlin: Fake news in German newspaper

The Berliner Zeitung published a report in which the newspaper accuses the Syrian embassy in Berlin of issuing Syrian passports without checking the identity of the applicants. Employees of the Syrian embassy offer the “service” for an “extra fee” of 150 Euro. It could mean that non-Syrians receive Syrian documents in the embassy if they bribe certain employees.

The “evidence” for these harsh accusations against the Syrian embassy are some unnamed witnesses who claim that the Berlin representation of the Syrian Arabic Republic offers such an illegal service.

Syrian documents in Germany and other European countries act as a guarantee for refugee status, including a residency. Because of this, a lot of fake documents are circulating. Syrian passports are offered in Turkey and on the so-called “Balkan route” to illegal migrants for money. Experts suspect that a lot of so-called “Syrian refugees” in Europe are in reality nationals from countries other than Syria.

The Syrian embassy is shocked about the allegations of the Berliner Zeitung based on unidentified “witnesses”. The embassy suspects that it may be a kind of smear campaign against its consular services. In a letter to the journalist Andreas Kopietz who wrote the article, the embassy insists that the report is “far from reality”. The German journalist “ignores basic rules of journalism and spreads information without checking its credibility”, according to the embassy. The Syrian embassy confirms that it is “in active, close contact with German authorities”. The embassy is checking documents transmitted by German authorities for authenticity. This, according to the embassy, “is in the interest of the Syrian citizens and the security of the host country”.

The allegations by the unnamed witnesses might have the purpose to undermine the credibility of the Syrian embassy and to harm the cooperation with German authorities.