The central German state of Thuringia announced that it would suspend all deportations of women and minors of Yazidi ethnicity to Iraq until at least April, the German news agency EPD reported on Thursday (January 4).

The announcement was made by the office of the Thuringian migration commissioner in the city of Erfurt. 

Over 200,000 Yazidis currently live in Germany, making it home to the largest Yazidi diaspora community in the world. The number of Yazidis in Europe skyrocketed when in 2014, the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) extremist organization seized the Sinjar Mountains in northern Iraq, which is where Yazidis had been living for centuries.

Last year, Germany officially recognized the IS atrocities and crimes committed against the Yazidi community between 2014 and 2018 by as a genocide. 

The European Parliament estimates that between 300,000 and 700,000 Yazidis were living in Iraq before IS forced them to flee their homes to cleanse that area of what they considered "non-Islamic influences." 

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion rooted in Zoroastrianism and other traditions, which IS considers heresy. 

Also read: From 'feeling dead' to finding 'inner peace' – traumatized Yazidis build a new life in Germany

Lower protection rate despite persecution

Prior to the announcement from Thuringia, only the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the western part of Germany had implemented a similar ban on the removal of members of the Yazidi minority. 

Government data, cited by EPD, however, showed that fewer than half of all Iraqi Yazidis in Germany have had their asylum requests fully accepted so far despite the official recognition of the genocide.

Many of them are still awaiting a final decision; meanwhile, out of 4,706 asylum cases lodged by Iraqi Yazidis in Germany, 2,420 were actually rejected.

Also read: Who are the Yazidis? 

Protest and hunger strikes

In October, a group Yazidis protested for days outside Germany's lower house of parliament (known as the Bundestag) and other German government buildings following the rejection of their petition for international protection.

The protesters reportedly feared being sent back to Iraq after a government decision decreed that anyone who has had their asylum requests refused could be returned to Iraq. Some protestors even went on a hunger strike. 

Since IS no longer holds power in Iraq, fewer Iraqi Yazidis have reportedly been able to claim asylum in Germany. In 2022, about 48.6% of Yazidis were granted asylum, according to EPD reports.

Back in 2017, that number stood at 91.8%.

Germany's secret deal with Iraq 

Last year, an investigation by German public broadcasters NDR, WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper revealed that the German government had secretly reached a deportation agreement with the government of Iraq, which could also be extended to include Yazidis.

The move was seen as an extension of the European Union's efforts to ramp uptake deportation of rejected asylum seekers across the bloc; German media reported that Austria and Sweden were seeking similar contentious partnerships with Iraq. 

Also read: A thorn in the government's side: Germany's secret deportation deal with Iraq

Top destination for asylum seekers 

Data from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) lists Germany as the foremost destination for asylum seekers across the European Union+ which refers to the 27 member states plus Norway and Switzerland. 

Of the nearly one million asylum applications received by the EU+ countries in 2022, Germany received an estimated 244,000 applications. 

Also read: Yazidi refugee fears deportation after three years in Germany