According to news agency epd, the case was filed by some refugees who came to Germany in 2015 and applied for asylum. The Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) had accorded the men "subsidiary protection," a status which is given to migrants who do not seem to be face persecution individually, but who could face the death penalty, torture or civil war in their home country. Refugees with subsidiary protection get a one-year visa, which is usually extended. They also do not have any rights to bring their families to Germany. Migrants whose asylum applications are accepted get a visa to stay in Germany for three years. Earlier this week, the administrative court in Aachen said that men between the ages of 18 and 42 and reservists were forbidden to leave Syria or could leave only if they had permission from the government. It was therefore possible that these men, who left Syria because they wanted to avoid being conscripted into the military, would be seen as members of the opposition and consequently be persecuted by the regime. The judges however, did not specify whether all asylum seekers from Syria faced a threat to life or political persecution if they returned home. Earlier, several courts had rejected these claims, including the Higher Regional Court of North Rhine Westphalia - of which Aachen is a part. The verdict is not yet legally binding and the German government can appeal against the decision at the Higher Regional Court in Münster. Infomigrants