New figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior present a concerning picture of the evolution of crime linked to Islamist immigrants in Germany in recent years. Between 2015 and 2024, more than 135,000 German citizens are reported to have been victims of crimes committed by suspects from Syria, according to the official government response to a parliamentary inquiry initiated by the AfD group and published by FREILICH.
The report, covering nearly a decade, also highlights a significant number of crimes attributed to individuals from other countries. Afghanistan, with almost 83,000 registered German victims, ranks second, followed by Iraq (69,946), Morocco (39,918), and Algeria (32,383). Overall, suspects from the ten main countries of origin — Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Eritrea — are linked to more than 460,000 German victims during this period.
AfD parliamentarian Christopher Drößler, responsible for the parliamentary initiative, considers the statistics a warning signal. “Numbers don’t lie,” he told the Austrian media. In his view, the data confirm that the majority of those affected are German citizens and that the federal government should respond with a more robust deportation policy. Drößler has called for a “repatriation offensive” focused on immigrants from the main countries involved and urged Berlin to “create the necessary legal conditions” to return repeat offenders to their countries of origin.
The Ministry of the Interior, however, has acknowledged that detailed tracking of recidivism over time is currently unfeasible. As explained in its official response, German police statistics (PKS) are compiled annually and do not allow crimes committed by the same person in different years to be grouped or tracked. Additionally, the ministry warns that privacy restrictions and data protection rules prevent the creation of a cumulative record, as it could lead to the identification of specific individuals.
Beyond technical aspects, the data show a steady increase in crime linked to Syrian suspects. According to the 2024 PKS, 101,265 crimes were recorded — excluding violations related to migration law — compared with 94,158 the previous year. The increase is particularly notable in violent crimes, sexual assaults, and thefts.
In the latest report, cases of serious violence reached 12,512, the highest figure recorded in a decade. Crimes of rape, sexual coercion, and especially serious sexual assault totaled 648, representing an increase of over 60% compared to 2020. There were also 9,310 cases of serious or dangerous bodily injury and 2,402 robberies.
Although the government defends the legal limitations that prevent a more thorough analysis, the data have reignited political debate over immigration management and internal security. AfD accuses the government of looking the other way, while the Ministry insists that any changes to the statistical system must ensure personal data protection and avoid collective stigmatization.
