Overview
- Judges in Münster annulled the entry and residency prohibition, allowing the former Guantánamo detainee to re-enter Germany.
- The court found the 2000 ban tied to a social-benefit fraud conviction had lapsed because Slahi became a Dutch EU citizen during the appeal, upholding the lower court’s outcome on different grounds.
- The ruling is not final, as the panel permitted revision to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig due to the case’s fundamental legal significance.
- The court did not rule on whether Slahi currently poses a terrorism threat and noted a new prohibition could be considered if EU free-movement rights were later lost.
- Duisburg’s 2022 order extending the ban for 20 years cited U.S. Justice Department statements about alleged al-Qaida links, while the BKA told the lower court it saw no present danger; Slahi now lives in the Netherlands as an author.