Ahmed Mohamed Odowaa, a 30-year-old Somali migrant, who chased down and then helped police arrest an Afghan migrant who had carried out a fatal knife attack against a group of children at a kindergarten (nursery) in the German town of Aschaffenburg, has been asked to leave the country, despite being awarded a civil medal for bravery for his part in stopping the attacker hurt more people.

In January this year, an Afghan migrant attacked a group of children in a park in Aschaffenburg, resulting in the death of a two-year-old and a 41-year-old man. As the Afghan fled the scene, Odowaa reportedly chased him, blocked him from escaping further and helped the police arrest him.

In February, Odowaa received a letter and in May this year, a medal from the head of Germany’s Bavaria state, Markus Söder. In the letter accompanying the medal, Söder reportedly said that Odowaa was "an example of civil courage" and thanked him for his actions, saying he deserved the "highest respect and recognition" for what he had done, reported the news portal t-online.

Read AlsoGermany: Police officer guilty of not pursuing future killer

Being a witness in the trial allowed for suspension of deportation order

He was then called as an important witness in the trial of the attacker, named as Enamullah O. and so for the duration of the trial, was issued with a Duldung, a temporary hold on his notice to leave the country. But that trial ended at the end of October and the attacker received his sentence. He has been judged to have psychological problems and is in a psychiatric detention unit.

Under German law, Odowaa in fact should have left the country in May 2024, when his application for asylum was rejected. Although he appealed against this, reported the German press agency dpa, the appeal was also rejected.

According to reports in the German tabloid Bild, Odowaa was already registered as a refugee in Italy and so should have been sent back there under the terms of the Dublin agreement, instead of trying to apply for asylum in a second EU country.

Read AlsoCulturally sensitive trauma care a necessity for refugees, says German psychologist

Wasted opportunities?

Since then Odowaa had been issued with a permit to work in Germany, but the local authorities in the state where he lives say he hasn’t taken up the jobs that have reportedly been offered to him, according to Bild.

Had he tried to work to stay in Germany, the authorities told Bild, he might have had a chance of a more temporary residence permit being granted. But he is reported not to have taken that opportunity and has also allegedly been accused of and tried for "various crimes," authorities in the city of Würzburg, in the state of Bavaria told Bild. T-online adds that these crimes relate to "two crimes" which resulted in monetary fines and a third incident which is still being investigated.

Odowaa has also been reportedly "difficult" with some state personnel, with whom he has come into contact, reported t-online. The news portal reports incidents of "aggression" when dealing with the accommodation with which he had been provided, resulting in his needing to be removed by security personnel from the state administrative offices after an "angry outburst."

Odowaa says this is not true and told the local newspaper Main Echo that the authorities are "lying. They are just looking for an excuse to get rid of me," added Odowaa.

Authorities in Bavaria (Unterfranken) told Bild they would like Odowaa to leave Germany voluntarily and return to Italy, where he is in possession of a valid protection permit. They added that once he has undertaken a course and potentially becomes qualified, he could apply for a skilled worker visa to re-enter Germany legally.

If he chooses not to leave voluntarily the Bavarian authorities say they will deport him in the new year. If that happens, it would be more difficult for him to reenter Germany by legal means.

With dpa

Read AlsoGermany: Aschaffenburg attack prompts political blame game