Germany probing cases of citizens detained and denied entry to US

Euronews

19-03-2025

Poland and the Baltic states said on Tuesday that they want to withdraw from an international treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing Russia's growing military threat.
In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said they "unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention".
The 1997 treaty — which prohibits the use, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines — has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 countries.
Russia has not joined the agreement, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned the war-torn country into the most mine-laden nation in the world, according to reports.
"Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased," the statement said.
"We believe that in the current security environment it is paramount to provide our defence forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defence of the alliance's vulnerable eastern flank," it added.
Despite the intention to leave the treaty, the statement said the countries would remain committed to humanitarian law, including protecting civilians during armed conflict.
The four countries have all increased or vowed to boost their defence spending following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Estonia, Lithuania and Poland have pledged to spend 5% of their GDP on defence, a goal that was put forward by US President Donald Trump. The current spending target for NATO members is 2%.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the country's military saw no need to adopt previously banned landmines.
"Decisions regarding the Ottawa Convention should be made in solidarity and coordination within the region," Pevkur said. "At the same time, we currently have no plans to develop, stockpile, or use previously banned anti-personnel landmines."
Meanwhile, Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said the recommended withdrawal sent a "clear message" about protecting the region's borders.
"The states having a border with Russia are ready to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of their citizens," she said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament earlier this month that he supported the country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention and possibly from the 2008 Dublin Convention, which bans the use of cluster munitions.
Finland, which is not a signatory of the joint statement, said in December that it was also considering leaving the treaty due to Russia's use of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine.
The US is the only NATO member state not party to the treaty. Other major nations that have not joined the pact include China, India, Pakistan and South Korea.
According to NATO, nearly 70 countries and territories are still affected by the presence of some 110 million land mines, which can remain dormant, concealed beneath the earth, for many years before being triggered.
At least 5,757 people — mostly civilians — were killed or wounded by landmines and unexploded ordnance in 2023, found an annual tally by the NGO Landmine Monitor.
Germany is probing the case of three of its citizens being denied entry and placed in detention as they tried to enter the US, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday.
Tourists from several countries, including Germans, have reportedly been caught up in US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.
"We have recently become aware of three cases in which German citizens were unable to enter the USA and were detained for deportation when they entered the country," government spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said.
Two of the three cases had been resolved, Fischer confirmed, but Berlin is "monitoring the situation" and liaising with other EU countries to assess if these were isolated cases or representative of "a change in American immigration policy".
'Once we have a clear picture, we will then, if necessary, adjust our travel and security advice,' Fischer added.
German and US media reported that two German tourists and one German green card holder had been arrested on re-entry to the US.
Among them is Fabian Schmidt, 34, a legal permanent US resident. According to US outlet WGBH, he was detained at an airport in Boston before being transferred to a detention facility in Rhode Island.
Schmidt's mother, Astrid Senior, told the broadcaster that her son was "violently interrogated" at the airport before being stripped naked and forced into a cold shower by two officials.
The German foreign ministry said it was aware of the case and that its consulate in Boston was providing support.
"It is clear that we expect from our partners, as well as from all other countries in the world, that prison conditions comply with international human rights standards and that detainees are treated accordingly," Fischer said.
The two other nationals affected were Jessica Brösche, a 29-year-old tattoo artist from Berlin, and Lucas Sielaff, 25, from Saxony-Anhalt. Both have been sent back to Germany after their cases were resolved.
Brösche had attempted to enter the US from Tijuana in Mexico while travelling with her friend, a US citizen.
According to the online fundraiser set up to fund her return, authorities originally told her she would be detained for several days, but that what ensued instead was an "alarming sequence of events" with Brösche transferred and kept at the Otay Mesa Detention centre for more than six weeks.
Brösche's friends alleged she was put in solitary confinement for nine days during her ordeal.
According to ABC 10News, San Diego CoreCivic, the company that owns the detention centre where Brösche was held, denied her claims that she had been placed in solitary confinement.
Sielaff returned to Germany in early March after two weeks in detention his girlfriend, Lennon Tyler, told Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger. He had entered the US on a tourist visa and visited Mexico for a short trip.
Tyler said Sielaff had incorrectly answered an immigration officer that he lived in Las Vegas due to his lack of English skills. His tourist visa was subsequently revoked at a border point in San Ysidro.
'Don't come here,' Tyler warned in her interview. 'Especially not if you're on a tourist visa, and especially not over the Mexican border.'
It is unclear why Brösche and Sielaff, who reportedly had valid tourist visas, were detained.
Germans who have a valid tourist visa to the US are generally allowed to travel visa-free for up to 90 days, according to the US embassy website in Germany.
Green card holders are generally allowed to travel abroad and re-enter the US after stays lasting less than six consecutive months, according to the US government.
More than 400 Palestinians were killed, including children and women, on Tuesday after Israel launched extensive airstrikes, Palestinian medics say.
Early Tuesday morning, Israel's Prime Minister's office said it instructed the army to target Hamas across the Gaza Strip.
The strikes were reported to have hit targets in northern Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah.
An Israeli statement said it carried out the strikes after Hamas refused to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and rejected a truce deal proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israel promised to use "increasing military force."
The scale of the horror is "unimaginable", according to one volunteer with Medical Aid for Palestinians based at Nasser Hospital. Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan said she had personally treated at least five patients who died in the emergency room.
'The ER was just chaos, patients everywhere, on the floor,' she said. 'There were probably three men, and the rest were all children, women, and the elderly—everybody caught in their sleep, still wrapped in blankets. Terrifying.'
The surprise attack broke a period of relative quiet during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and increased fears that the 17-month conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and left Gaza in ruins, would resume in full.
When the Israeli planes struck, Palestinians at a school in Gaza City that was providing shelter to displaced families reported being forcibly shaken out of their sleep.
More than two dozen people died, according to hospital officials.
'People are sleeping peacefully; they set the alarm to wake up for suhoor, and they wake up to death,' said Fedaa Heriz, a displaced woman, referring to the early morning meal during the fasting month of Ramadan.
'I heard screaming, my mother and sister screaming, calling for help. I came and entered the room and found the children under the rubble, under the stones,' said Majd Naser, a displaced Palestinian.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the school strike, which was part of a renewed offensive in Gaza.
The strikes come as the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel remains in limbo. The first stage of the three-phase deal brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt started mid-January and ended on the first of March.
Negotiations on the second phase have not yet been hammered out.
Hamas condemned the latest raids and said it holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the "unprovoked escalation" against Palestinians.
"We hold the criminal Netanyahu fully responsible for the consequences of the treacherous aggression on Gaza, the defenceless civilians and our Palestinian people," the militant group said on Telegram.
Hamas warned the strikes breached the ceasefire and put the fate of the hostages in jeopardy.
"Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to violate the ceasefire agreement and expose the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said at least four of its senior officials, including two top police officers, were killed in the Israeli strikes.
They named the officials as Issam al-Daalis, head of the government administrative committee; Maj. Gen. Mohamed Abu Watfa, undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, Maj. Gen. Bahgat Abu Sultan, director of the domestic security agency and Ahmed al-Hetta, undersecretary of the Justice Ministry.
Earlier on Monday, Israel launched attacks towards Gaza, southern Lebanon, and southern Syria, killing at least ten people, according to local authorities.
The airstrikes were the latest in what have been frequent and often deadly attacks by Israeli forces during the fragile ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.